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One  kwan  note  of  the  Tang  Dynasty.  Emperor,  Wu  Tsung; 
Period,  Hwei  Ch'ang;  A. D.  841-847.  Reproduced  from  the  original, 
the  paper  of  which  measures  9%  by  614  inches;  the  impression,  934 
by  534  inches.   The  red  seals  are  not  photographically  accurate. 

From  the  collection  of  Andrew  McFarland  Davis. 


Certain  Old  Chinese  Notes 


or 


Chinese  Paper  Money 


A  communication  presented  to  the  American  Academy 

of  Arts  and  Sciences,  at  28  Newbury  Street, 

Boston,  on  the  10th  of  February,  1915 


BY 

ANDREW  McFARLAND  DAVIS 


BOSTON 

GEORGE  EMERY  LITTLEFIELD 

67  CORNHILL 

1915 


^50  Separates  with  Preface  and  Index 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

Page 
Tang  Note,  841-847,  1  Kwan Frontispiece 

Morse's  Lithograph  of  a  Ming  Note 247 

Mongol  Note,  A.D.  1264-1295,  400  Wen  (Civil) ....  249 

Mongol  Note,  A.D.  1264-1295,  400  Wen  (Military)  .   .  250 

Du  Halde's  Drawing  of  a  Ming  Note 253 

Chaudoir's  Drawing  op  a  Ming  Note 256 

Tang  Note,  A.D.  650^56,  10  Kwan 260 

Ming  Note,  1368-1398,  1  Kwan 264 

Tang  Note,  841-847,  9  Kwan 269 

West  Liao  Note,  1136-1142,  3  Kwan 271 

Sung  Note,  1165-1174,  70  Kwan 272 

Sung  Note,  1165-1174,  100  Kwan 274 

Ming  Note,  1425,  1426,  10  Wen 278 


PREFACE 

Knowledge  of  the  extensive  use  of  paper  money  in  China 
covering  a  period  of  many  centuries,  all  of  which  were  prior  to  the 
voyage  of  Columbus  in  1492,  has  only  been  accessible  to  european 
and  american  students  for  a  comparatively  brief  time.  At  best, 
the  study  of  this  subject  may  be  said  to  be  in  its  infancy.  Even 
after  the  barrier  of  non-intercourse  was  broken  down,  the  investi- 
gator of  Chinese  affairs  required  time  to  overcome  the  various 
obstructions  interposed  by  a  difficult  foreign  language,  printed  in 
characters  whose  forms  had  to  be  mastered  and  whose  meaning 
it  was  not  always  easy  to  interpret.  It  was  only  after  translations 
were  made  of  some  of  the  old  Chinese  histories  that  the  wonderful 
story  of  this  extraordinary  experience  began  to  be  appreciated.  It 
is  to  be  presumed  that  many  contributory  facts  bearing  on  the 
subject  are  to  be  found  in  the  dynastic  histories  and  in  numismat- 
ical  works,  accessible  as  yet  only  to  those  who  can  read  Chinese, 
which  will  in  the  near  future  be  unearthed  and  brought  within 
reach  of  an  english-reading  public  through  the  instrumentality  of 
some  intelligent  translator. 

So,  too,  it  may  be  expected  that  the  dawning  interest  in  the 
subject  will  lead  to  the  acquisition  by  our  museums  of  specimens 
of  these  notes,  other  than  the  one  kwan  Ming  note  of  the  last 
quarter  of  the  fourteenth  century,  now  to  be  found  in  some  of 
them.  Although  these  old  notes  are  not  at  present  offered  for  sale, 
it  is  quite  certain  that  the  collections  said  to  be  now  in  the  hands 
of  wealthy  chinamen  will  by  degrees  be  broken  up  and  thus  offer 
opportunity  for  european  purchasers. 

Even  as  things  stand  today,  there  is  much  matter  that  is  acces- 
sible in  our  own  libraries,  locked  up  in  Chinese  publications,  which 
might  be  made  available  through  an  interpreter.  Such  efforts  as 
I  have  made  to  secure,  through  aid  of  Chinese  scholars,  some 
interpretation  of  the  Chinese  books  which  are  at  our  command 
have,  as  a  rule,  resulted  in  failure,  and  had  it  not  been  for  the 

V 


vi  Preface 

patient  examination  and  translation  of  the  inscriptions  on  the  notes 
themselves  by  Mr.  Edward  B.  Drew,  I  should  have  been  compelled 
to  go  to  press  without  any  information  as  to  the  denominational 
values  of  the  notes  or  as  to  the  meaning  of  the  various  legends  on 
their  face.  The  one  exception  to  this  rule,  the  assistance  given 
by  Mr.  F.  Chang  in  connection  with  the  note  emitted  650-656  a.  d., 
is  fully  explained  further  on. 

But  little  interest  is  at  present  taken  in  Chinese  paper  money. 
This  is  in  part  due  to  the  fact  that  what  is  known  about  the 
subject  has  not  been  disseminated  through  sources  calculated  to 
attract  public  attention,  and  in  part  to  the  rarity  of  specimens 
of  the  notes  themselves.  It  is  impossible  that  this  interest  should 
not  be  fostered  by  the  increase  of  knowledge  on  the  subject  which 
must  come  from  the  impending  study  of  the  Chinese  dynastic 
histories,  and  interest  in  the  notes  must  increase  when  collectors 
reflect  that  the  few  that  have  been  preserved  by  wealthy  Chinese 
collectors  will  find  their  way  to  the  market  during  times  of  pecun- 
iary pressure  in  China. 

It  is  not  likely  that  any  study  of  this  paper-money  episode  can 
result  in  disclosing  much  of  value  to  the  economist.  One  has  but 
to  turn  to  the  publications  of  the  Monetary  Commission  to  realize 
that  the  experience  of  two  centuries  of  use  in  Christendom  has 
brought  to  light  far  more  of  real  knowledge  concerning  the  advan- 
tages to  be  derived  from  this  form  of  credit,  the  perils  that  attend 
its  use,  and  the  steps  which  may  be  taken  to  protect  the  public 
from  these  perils,  than  is  likely  to  be  gleaned  from  the  most  pro- 
tracted study  of  the  Chinese  experience.  Nevertheless,  it  would 
have  been  a  source  of  satisfaction  to  me  to  feel  that  I  had  ex- 
hausted, in  this  paper,  all  the  sources  of  information  which  either 
are  actually  at  my  command,  or  which  might  have  been,  could  I 
have  secured  the  services  of  a  competent  person  who  could  have 
settled  certain  questions,  suggested  by  the  Chinese  books  in  our 
libraries,  especially  those  devoted  to  numismatics.  As  it  is,  the 
question  that  I  have  to  solve  is  whether  it  is  better  to  put  forth 
this  avowedly  incomplete  investigation  in  its  present  form,  or  to 
postpone  its  publication  until  I  shall  have  found  the  Chinese 
scholar  who  will  come  to  my  relief.  My  answer  is  the  submission 
of  the  paper  just  as  it  is.   I  feel  that  as  a  contribution  towards 


Pkeface  vii 

opening  up  knowledge  on  this  topic  the  fact  that  it  is  incomplete 
may  stimulate  others  to  pursue  the  subject  further,  fill  up  the 
gaps  in  this  research,  and  thus  add  new  information  on  the  subject. 

A  word  may,  perhaps,  be  said  concerning  the  prints  of  the  old 
notes  which  are  reproduced  from  Chinese  illustrations.  The 
Chinese  volume  from  which  these  pictures  are  taken  is  printed 
on  leaves  which,  when  folded  once  only,  furnish  a  page  of  about 
the  size  of  that  used  in  a  large  octavo  volume.  This  paper  is  cut 
in  pieces  of  the  proper  size  for  two  pages  on  each  face.  It  is,  how- 
ever, printed  on  one  side  alone,  two  consecutive  pages  at  a  time. 
The  leaves  thus  printed  are  then  folded,  printed  side  out,  and 
bound  with  the  two  loose  edges  at  the  inner  edge,  where  the 
binder  stitches  the  leaves  together,  the  fold  being  at  the  outer 
edge.  Each  volume,  therefore,  has  as  many  blank  pages  within 
the  folds  as  there  are  printed  pages  exposed.  In  the  case  of  printed 
pages,  there  is  under  ordinary  circumstances  a  margin  left  at  the 
outer  edge,  but  in  the  case  of  the  illustrations,  if  one  of  them  proves 
to  be  too  large  for  the  page,  it  is  carried  over  on  to  the  next  page 
and  the  fold  of  the  leaf  passes  immediately  through  the  illustration 
itself.  There  is  no  way  that  an  illustration  covering  two  pages 
can  be  flattened  down,  so  as  to  take  an  acceptable  picture  of  it 
as  a  whole.  The  reproductions  which  furnished  copy  for  the  half- 
tones that  accompany  this  paper  were  taken  with  a  photostat  at 
the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society  by  Mr.  Worthington  C.  Ford. 
The  control  which  the  operator  of  the  photostat  is  able  to  exercise 
over  the  distance  of  the  subject  from  the  impression,  and  the 
power  that  he  has  to  give  to  successive  impressions  the  same  tint, 
through  the  fact  that  the  light  is  artificial,  enable  him  to  produce, 
in  the  case  of  the  illustrations  which  cover  two  pages,  two  distinct 
impressions  of  the  separate  pages  of  the  same  size  and  of  exactly 
the  same  tint,  which,  when  fitted  together,  give  a  complete  whole, 
so  perfect  that  the  line  of  severance  can  hardly  be  discovered. 

The  red  seals  on  the  Chaudoir  and  Morse  notes  appear  in  the 
half-tones  to  be  deep  black.  It  was  not  thought  to  be  worth  while 
to  attempt  to  superimpose  the  red  tint  on  these  notes,  but  in  the 
case  of  the  two  Tang  notes,  841-847  a.  d.,  it  was  desirable  to  show 
these  seals.  These  notes  are  printed  in  three  colors,  the  funda- 
mental tint  being  that  of  the  yellow  paper  on  which  the  notes  are 


viii  Preface 

printed.  The  Chinese  characters  and  the  ornamental  border  are 
then  printed  on  the  notes  in  black,  and  finally  the  delicate  red 
seals  are  superimposed.  Should  any  person  familiar  with  the  square 
seal  Chinese  characters  undertake  to  read  these  seals,  he  will  have 
to  bear  in  mind  that  they  are  not  photographic,  but  are  the  work 
of  a  draughtsman  who  reproduces  as  best  he  may  what  he  saw 
upon  the  face  of  the  notes. 

The  tint  of  the  yellow  Tang  notes  in  these  illustrations  is 
approximately  correct,  but  the  half-tones  of  the  notes  of  the 
dynasties  which  succeed  these  are  all  lighter  in  color  than  the 
originals.  The  alternative  offered  was  the  sacrifice  of  the  texture 
of  the  paper,  and  the  rendering  obscure  the  Chinese  characters 
on  the  face  of  the  notes,  or  the  faithful  adherence  to  the  tints  of 
the  originals.  It  was  thought  that  the  reproductions  as  they  are 
given  would  give  a  better  idea  of  the  notes  than  they  would  if 
printed  in  the  darker  tones  of  the  originals. 

There  are  among  these  notes  none  that  does  not  bear  traces  of 
the  red  seals  upon  its  face,  but  these  traces  in  many  instances 
amount  merely  to  a  dash  of  color,  the  seal  characters  being  entirely 
worn  away.  The  larger  notes  were  evidently  folded  so  as  to  be 
carried  in  a  portfolio  or  wallet,  and  these  folds,  especially  in  the 
case  of  the  one  kwan  Ming  notes,  1368-1398  a.  d.,  are  easily  to 
be  discerned  on  the  notes. 

Any  person  who  shall  undertake  to  follow  out  the  various  clues 
which  may  lead  to  valuable  information  concerning  these  Chinese 
notes  will  be  compelled  to  include  within  the  territory  of  his 
research  the  libraries  of  Great  Britain.  There  is  one  work  in  the 
Ryland's  Library  at  Manchester  which  may  confidently  be  ex- 
pected to  yield  information.  The  title  of  the  work  is  given  as 
ChHen  Chih  Hsin  Pien,  and  it  is  described  as  "an  illustrated 
treatise  on  the  currency,  down  to  the  end  of  the  Ming  Djmasty,  con- 
(jluding  with  a  section  on  foreign  coins  and  another  on  unknown 
coins.  By  Chang  Tsung-i.   20  chtian.  4  p6n  in  1  tao.    1826." 

A  revised  edition  of  this  work  was  published  by  Fang  Chan,  a 
second  edition  of  which,  with  a  new  preface  by  his  son  Yi  Chan, 
was  published  in  1854.  It  is  evident  that  this  numismatical  work 
may  contain  much  that  we  are  in  search  of,  but  at  the  time 
when  I  wished  to  look  up  this  point,  travelers  were  not  welcome 


Preface  iz 

in  England,  and  spies  were  scented  in  all  persons  whose  mission 
was  not  obvious.  That  we  have  here  a  possible  contributory  source, 
and  that  we  cannot  consider  any  study  of  the  subject  complete 
which  shall  neglect  this  source,  is  evident.  I  am  indebted  to 
Mr.  Wilberforce  Eames  for  such  information  as  I  have  of  this 
Chinese  work,  but  he  was  unable  to  give  me  the  jname  of  any 
Chinese  scholar  in  Manchester  whose  services  I  could  invoke  to 
answer  certain  questions  as  to  these  books. 

S.  W.  Bushell,  in  an  article  on  the  Hsia  D3niasty  of  Tangut, 
published  in  the  Journal  of  the  China  Branch  of  the  Royal  Asiatic 
Society,  Vol.  XXX,  New  Series,  No.  2,  1895-96,  speaks  of  a 
Chinese  book,  Ch'uan  Chih,  which  he  describes  as  "the  earliest 
special  numismatic  work  which  has  come  down  to  us,  having  been 
published  by  Hung  Tsung,  in  fifteen  books,  during  the  Southern 
Sung  Dynasty,  in  the  nineteenth  year  (a.  d.  1149)  of  the  Shao 
Hsing  period."  Of  course,  this  book,  if  it  can  be  procured,  should 
also  be  examined. 

It  is  stated  in  the  text  that  doubts  have  been  thrown  on  the 
authenticity  of  the  note,  emitted  in  650-656  a.  d.  This  was  done 
in  the  interest  of  a  fair  presentation  of  the  subject,  although  the 
measure  of  the  value  of  these  doubts  was  indicated  in  the  state- 
ment that  it  was  not  conceivable  that  the  compiler  of  the  numis- 
matical  work  deliberately  manufactured  the  design.  There  was, 
however,  one  circumstance  developed  in  the  course  of  the  exam- 
ination of  Ch'iian  Pu  T'ung  Chih,  which  raised  a  doubt  as  to  the 
accuracy  of  the  date  of  the  emission  of  the  note.  The  illustrations 
in  this  work  are  chronologically  arranged,  and  this  note  is  bound 
in  among  the  notes  emitted  by  an  emperor  who  reigned  860-874  a.  d. 
The  question  naturally  arose.  Did  this  mean  that  the  author  of 
the  book  for  some  reason  or  other  had  assigned  the  note  to  that 
period,  in  spite  of  the  statement  on  its  face  that  it  was  emitted 
650-656  A.  D.?  Through  the  aid  of  Mr.  F.  Chang,  I  am  able  to 
answer  that  question  and,  by  so  doing,  remove  the  doubts  sug- 
gested by  this  chronological  violation. 

The  pages  of  this  Chinese  book  are  numbered  and  there  is  also 
a  marginal  reference  on  each  page  to  the  emperor  during  whose 
reign  the  coins  or  notes  depicted  on  the  page  were  emitted.  There 
are  illustrations  of  two  of  these  650-656  A.  d.  notes.  They  bear 


X  Preface 

the  marginal  reference  of  the  emperor  who  reigned  at  that  date, 
but  they  have  no  pagination  mark.  If  they  were  removed  from 
the  book,  the  pagination  would  remain  consecutive  and  uninter- 
rupted. Their  insertion  at  this  point  is  therefore  a  binder's  error. 
Moreover,  the  notes  are  described  in  their  proper  place  in  the  text 
of  the  Chinese  book,  and  Mr.  Chang  was  kind  enough  to  give  me 
the  following  translation  of  that  text,  giving  an  account  not  only 
of  the  finding  of  the  notes  by  the  author,  but  also  of  the  joy  that 
he  experienced  on  this  occasion: 

"  During  the  reign  of  Kao  Tsung,  of  the  Emperor  Yung  Hui, 
notes  of  ten  denominations  were  issued.  Their  color  was  yellow. 
At  the  top  was  written  '  Precious  notes  of  Great  Tang.'  In  the 
middle  was  written  '  One  string.'  "  Then  follows  a  paragraph  de- 
scribing the  various  denominations  of  the  emissions,  succeeding 
which  came  more  of  the  description  of  the  note  substantially  in 
these  words :  "  At  the  bottom  was  written  *  The  Board  of  Revenue 
printed  and  made  the  note  with  Imperial  permission,  to  circulate 

as  money,  etc.,  on  the day, month,  and  in  the year 

of  Yung  Hui.'  On  the  border  of  the  notes  were  fancy  columns  of 
clouds  and  dragons.  The  notes  of  the  ten  denominations  were 
each  superimposed  with  a  square  seal  at  the  top,  the  inscription 
of  which  reads,  '  Printed  precious  notes,'  and  with  a  square  seal 
at  the  bottom,  the  inscription  of  which  reads,  *  the  seal  of  Yung 
Hui  of  Great  Tang.'  There  were  no  lines  or  seals  on  the  back  of 
the  notes.  These  two  notes  together  with  the  seven  articles  that 
follow  [the  seven  articles  were  probably  coins,  illustrations  of 
which  were  given]  all  came  from  the  things  stored  in  the  family 
of  T'ung.  How  fortunate  I  was  to  have  got  them!  The  fineness 
of  the  workmanship  of  these  notes  differed  from  all  other  notes. 
They  ought  to  be  the  crown  of  all  notes.  It  is  doubtful  whether 
prior  to  Kao  Tsung  there  could  be  better  ones." 

Can  anyone  hesitate  to  accept  the  authenticity  of  these  notes 
after  reading  this  excerpt  from  the  pages  of  Ch'iian  Pu  T'ung 
Chih?  Can  anyone  doubt  the  genuineness  of  the  author's  exulta- 
tion when  at  last  he  runs  down  these  notes  in  the  collections  of 
the  T'ung  family,  and  for  the  first  time  in  his  life,  after  years 
of  work  on  his  numismatic  studies,  stands  in  the  presence  of 
these  examples  of  early  currency?  For  my  part  I  have  none,  and 


Preface  xi 

if  I  leave  the  text  of  my  paper  undisturbed  on  this  point,  it  is  in 
the  hope  that  the  fact  that  the  knowledge  later  acquired  and 
given  in  this  preface  may  serve  to  make  clear  that  doubts  as  to 
the  650-656  a.  d.  emissions  no  longer  exist  in  my  mind. 

The  dates  assigned  to  the  different  dynasties  and  to  the  reigns  of 
the  emperors,  when  stated  in  terms  of  the  chronology  accepted  by 
Christendom,  are  necessarily  the  results  of  mathematical  conver- 
sions from  one  system  to  another.  All  writers  are  in  substantial 
agreement  as  to  these  dates,  but  there  is  an  occasional  discrepancy 
of  a  year  at  the  beginning  or  end  of  a  reign. 

With  regard  to  the  names  of  the  great  dynasties,  such  as  Tang, 
Sung,  or  Ming,  there  seems  to  be  a  practical  imiformity  of  usage 
as  to  what  they  were  called.  It  is  not  so,  however,  when  we  come 
to  the  designations  of  the  emperors.  The  ruling  monarch  was 
accustomed  to  break  up  his  reign  into  periods  and  to  adopt  a 
name  for  each  period.  This  results  in  the  style  of  the  period 
being  frequently  stated  as  the  name  of  the  emperor.  The  con- 
fusion resulting  from  this  is  easily  reconciled  if  one  has  access  to 
a  table  in  which  the  dynasties,  the  reigns,  and  the  periods  are 
arranged  in  chronological  order. 

The  phonetic  renderings  of  the  names  of  the  emperors  and  of 
the  periods  is  also  a  source  of  some  confusion,  but  here  again  if 
one  bears  in  mind  that  these  are  attempts  at  presentation  in  our 
alphabet  of  arrangements  of  letters  which  shall  convey  certain 
sounds  expressed  by  the  Chinese  characters,  he  will  see,  first  that 
different  combinations  of  letters  can  be  made  to  represent  certain 
sounds,  and  second  that  different  individuals  might  not  agree  as  to 
the  proper  method  of  rendering  specific  sounds.  So  far  as  my  own 
paper  is  concerned,  I  have  uniformly  followed  a  particular  dynastic 
table,  adopting  the  peculiarities  of  spelling  and  accepting  the 
divisions  of  time,  but  have  not  undertaken  to  make  quotations 
conform  to  the  requirements  of  the  table. 

The  sub-heading  on  page  266,  "  Twelve  old  Chinese  notes,"  etc., 
is  misleading,  there  being  fourteen  old  notes,  but  of  these  there 
were  only  twelve  varieties,  the  three  Ming  notes,  1368-1398,  being 
all  one  kwan  notes. 

The  several  notes  which  have  given  rise  to  this  paper  are  at  the 
Museum  of  Fine  Arts  in  Boston. 


Proceedings  of  the  American  Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences. 
Vol.  L.  No.  11.— June,  1915. 


CERTAIN  OLD  CHINESE  NOTES. 


By  Andrew  McFarland  Davis. 


CERTAIN  OLD  CHINESE  NOTES. 

By  Andrew  McFarland  Davis. 
Presented,  February  10,  1915.     Received,  February  19,  1915. 

Chinese  Paper  Money. 

The  use  in  China,  as  a  medium  of  trade,  of  a  representative  paper 
currency,  based  upon  government  credit  dates  back  with  reasonable 
certainty  to  the  beginning  of  the  ninth  century  of  the  Christian  Era. 
The  notes  than  in  circulation  are  referred  to  by  Chinese  historians  in 
such  a  way  as  to  leave  no  doubt  in  the  minds  of  investigators  compe- 
tent to  analyze  the  literature  of  that  country,  as  to  the  authenticity 
of  the  statement  that  at  that  date  a  government  paper  money  was  in 
circulation.  There  are  fabulous  assertions  by  Chinese  writers,  as  to 
the  use  of  paper  money  many  centuries  before  the  birth  of  Christ. 
And  there  are  specific  assertions  of  the  value  assigned  to  white  deer 
skins,  for  purposes  of  transfer  under  certain  circumstances,  by  one 
of  the  emperors  about  a  century  and  a  half  before  Christ,  which  have 
led  translators  to  speak  of  them  as  "Deer  Skin  Money."  I  take 
no  consideration  of  this  so-called  money,  for  it  was  neither  paper 
money,  nor  would  the  accounts  that  we  have  of  it  permit  it  to  be 
defined  as  money  at  all.  But  the  beginning  of  the  ninth  century  of 
the  Christian  Era  has  been  generally  accepted  by  students  of  the 
subject  as  the  period  when  it  can  be  satisfactorily  demonstrated  that 
government  notes  were  actually  circulated  in  lieu  of  metallic  money. 
There  is  indeed  a  Chinese  numismatical  work  ^  which  furnishes  pictorial 
representations  of  notes  emitted  as  early  as  the  middle  of  the  seventh 
century.  The  compiler  of  that  work  must  have  had  some  authority 
for  the  designs  of  these  earlier  notes  which  he  published.  If  we  hesi- 
tate to  accept  this  date,  without  further  knowledge  as  to  the  authori- 
ties upon  which  are  based  the  details  given  about  these  notes,  it  must 
nevertheless  be  recognized  as  possible  that  the  date  of  650  A.D.  may 
ultimately  be  accepted  as  that  of  the  earliest  emission  of  notes  by  the 
Chinese  government  of  which  we  have  at  present  any  trace.  The 
fact  remains  however  that  there  is  corroborative  evidence  from  numer- 

1  Ch'ien  Pu  Tung  Chih,  or  by  others  Chuan  Pu  Tung  Chih. 


246  PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ACADEMY. 

ous  sources  as  to  the  notes  emitted  after  806  A.D.  and  that  a  few  scat- 
tered specimens  of  some  of  the  various  emissions  remain  in  existence, 
while  it  is  said,  that  no  other  mention  of  those  earlier  notes  has  been 
met  with  in  Chinese  literature  than  that  accredited  to  this  particular 
WTiter. 

The  acquisition  by  myself  in  1910  of  a  Ming  note  emitted  probably 
about  1375,  led  to  correspondence  and  investigation  on  my  part. 
Interest  in  the  subject  was  revived  in  the  fall  of  1914  by  my  securing 
possession  of  fourteen  of  these  old  notes,  two  of  which  dated  back  to 
the  Tang  Dynasty,  somewhere  about  850  A.D.,  and  of  course  investi- 
gation on  my  part  was  thereby  stimulated.  The  circumstances 
connected  with  the  purchase  of  the  first  of  these  notes  were  as  follows : 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1910,  I  received  a  catalogue  from  a 
London  book-seller  which  contained  the  following  item: 

"Chinese  Bank  Note.  A  genuine  specimen  of  the  earliest  known  Bank 
Note,  being  one  issued  during  the  reign  of  the  Emperor,  Hung  Wu  (1368- 
1398).  12^  by  8§  ins.  The  inscription  enclosed  by  elaborate  ornamental 
border,  the  whole  being  printed  from  a  wood  block;  mounted  on  limp  board, 
with  embroidered  work  at  back;  worn  in  places." 

The  earhest  Eiu-opean  note  was  issued  by  the  Bank  of  Stockholm  about 
three  centuries  after  the  above.  There  is  a  similar  example  in  the  British 
Museum,  which  is  the  only  one  known  to  me. 

Further  correspondence  revealed  the  fact  that  the  description  of 
the  note,  except  as  to  the  mounting  was  taken  from  labels  at  the 
British  Museum.  A  friend  in  London,  at  my  instance,  took  a  look 
at  the  specimen  which  was  offered  for  sale,  and  although  not  an  expert 
in  such  matters,  expressed  himself  as  satisfied  that  it  was  genuine  and 
I  purchased  it. 

At  that  time  I  knew  nothing  about  Chinese  paper-money.  The 
statement  that  the  specimen  was  a  bank-note  I  rejected,  as  improba- 
ble, but  the  error  of  describing  these  government  emissions  as  bank- 
notes is  one  that  is  frequently  committed  by  writers  on  the  subject, 
and  in  this  particular  case  may  perhaps  be  charged  to  the  labels  of  the 
British  Museum. 

In  the  spring  of  1911  I  wrote  to  one  of  the  curators  in  that  institu- 
tion asking  about  specimens  of  Chinese  currency  in  their  possession, 
and  found  that  the  Museum  at  that  time  had  two  notes  precisely  alike, 
both  of  the  Ming  Dynasty  (1368,  1398)  and  each  for  one  kwan.  One 
was  procured  in  1890.     The  other  in  1902. 

Marco  Polo  was  in  China  about  one  hundred  years  before  the  date 


"^tHA^^ 


< 


PLcproduclion  of  a  lithographic  facsimile  of  a  one  kwan  Ming  iiotr, 
1368-1398,  given  by  H.  B.  Morse  in  The  Trade  and  Administration  ojf 
the  Chinese  Empire.  The  lithograph  is  colored  —  the  color  of  the  note 
being  grejs  and  the  government  seals  red.  The  design  on  the  border  has 
probably  been  reconstructed  by  the  draughtsman  who  prepared  the  sketch 
for  the  stone.  The  impression  on  the  hthograph  measures  13  by  8 3^ 
inches.    The  original  note  is  at  St.  John's  College,  Shanghai. 


DAVIS. —  CERTAIN  OLD  CHINESE  NOTES.  247 

of  these  notes,  and  he  left  behind  him  a  full  description  of  the  paper 
money  that  he  then  found  in  circulation.  I  therefore  turned  to  that 
source  of  information  and  examined  Polo's  description  of  the  Mongol 
notes.  At  the  same  time  I  procured  a  copy  of  H.  B.  Morse's  "  Trade 
and  Administration  of  the  Chinese  Empire,"  which  was  published  in 
1908  and  contained  a  lithographic  fac-simile  of  one  of  the  one  kwan 
Ming  notes.  Morse  gives  in  this  book  a  translation  of  the  various 
inscriptions  on  the  face  of  this  note,  whether  written  in  ordinary 
Chinese  or  in  seal  characters.  The  note  pictured  by  Morse  was  emitted 
after  an  experience  of  upward  of  five,  possibly  of  seven,  centuries'  use 
of  paper  money.  It  embodied  therefore  whatever  there  was  that 
this  long  experience  had  taught  the  Chinese  to  be  essential  in  the  form 
of  the  note  for  the  circulation  of  paper  money  in  China.  It  was  of 
the  same  emission  as  the  one  which  I  had  purchased.  Translations 
of  the  inscriptions  on  the  one  kwan  Ming  notes  are  to  be  found  in  the 
works  of  several  WTiters  who  treat  on  the  subject  of  Chinese  paper 
money,  but  the  most  complete  is  that  given  by  Morse.  It  is  desirable 
to  know  at  the  outset  precisely  what  is  meant  by  an  old  Chinese  note. 
I  therefore  incorporate  Morse's  translation  of  the  inscriptions  on  a 
Ming  note  and  also  include  his  story  of  the  manner  in  which  the  note 
was  acquired,  which  runs  as  follows: 

"This  500-year  old  instrument  of  credit  has  a  curious  history  furnishing 
an  absolute  guarantee  of  its  authenticity.  During  the  foreign  occupation 
of  Peking  in  1900,  some  European  soldiers  had  overthrown  a  sacred  image  of 
Buddha,  in  the  grounds  of  the  Summer  Palace,  and,  deposited  in  the  pedestal 
(as  in  the  corner-stones  of  our  pubUc  buildings),  found  gems  and  jewelry  and 
ingots  of  gold  and  silver  and  a  bundle  of  these  notes.  Contented  with  the 
loot  having  intrinsic  value,  the  soldiers  readily  surrendered  the  bundle  of 
notes  to  a  by-stander,  who  was  present  'unofficially,'  Surgeon  Major  Louis 
Livingston  Seaman,  U.  S.  A.,  of  New  York  and  he  gave  to  the  Museum  of 
St.  John's  College  at  Shanghai,  the  specimen  which  is  here  reproduced. 

"The  note  is  printed  on  mulberry-bark  paper,  which  now  is  of  a  dark  slate 
colour,  the  'something  resembling  sheets  of  paper,  but  black'  of  Marco  Polo's 
description.  The  sheet  of  paper  is  13.5  by  8.75  inches  and  the  design  on  the 
face  is  12.6  by  8.3  inches.  The  border,  1.4  inches  wide,  is  made  of  extended 
dragons  filled  around  with  an  arabesque  design,  and  is  surmoimted  by  a  panel 
with  the  inscription  (from  right  to  left)  'circulating  government  note  of  the 
Ming  Empire.'  The  space  within  the  border  is  divided  into  two  panels. 
The  upper  has  on  two  sides  in  conventionalized  square  seal  characters,  on  the 
right  'government  note  of  the  Ming  Empire,'  on  the  left  'circulating  for  ever 
and  ever,'  between  these  two  inscriptions,  above  in  large  ordinary  characters 
'One  Kwan,'  (or  tiao  or  string),  and  below  a  pictorial  illustration  representing 


248  PROCEEDINGS   OF  THE  AMERICAN  ACADEMY. 

ten  hundreds  of  cash.  The  lower  panel  contains  the  following:  'The  Imperial 
Board  of  Revenue  having  memorialized  the  Throne  has  received  the  Imperial 
sanction  for  the  issue  of  government  notes  of  the  Ming  Empire,  to  circulate 
on  the  same  footing  as  standard  cash.  To  counterfeit  is  death.  The  inform- 
ant will  receive  250  taels  of  silver  and  in  addition  the  entire  property  of  the 
criminal.  Hung  Wu. . .  .year. . .  .month. .  .day.'  A  seal  3.25  inches  square 
ia  impressed,  once  on  the  upper  panel,  once  on  the  lower  panel,  bearing  in 
square  seal  characters  the  legend  'The  Seal  of  Government  Note  Adminis- 
trators.' On  the  back  of  the  note,  above  is  impressed  in  vermilion  a  seal 
bearing  in  square  seal  characters  the  legend  '  Seal  for  Circulating  Government 
Notes';  below,  within  a  border  6.2  by  4.1  inches  is  repeated  the  middle  of 
the  upper  panel  of  the  face  —  One  Kwan,  with  a  pictorial  illustration  repre- 
senting ten  hundreds  of  cash." 

What  was  known  about  the  Subject  in  the  Fourteenth 

Century. 

Such  was  the  form  of  note  in  use  in  China  after  so  many  years  of 
practical  experience  with  paper  money,  a  form  it  may  be  said  which 
did  not  differ  in  any  essential  particular  from  that  of  the  earliest  notes 
which  have  been  preserved,  and  which  closely  resembles  that  of  our 
own  greenbacks  in  its  substantial  features,  even  down  to  the  recital 
of  the  law  against  counterfeiting.  In  the  different  Chinese  notes  the 
names  of  the  emperors  and  of  the  dynasties;  of  the  denominational 
values;  and  of  the  rewards  for  information  as  to  counterfeiters;  are 
subject  to  change,  but  the  general  form  was  as  we  find  it  in  the  Ming 
note  for  one  kwan. 

Nonintercourse  with  China  will  not  altogether  explain  why  our 
ancestors  were  not  able  to  profit  by  the  experience  of  these  orientals 
in  the  use  of  paper  money,  for  during  the  13th  and  14th  centuries 
information  concerning  Chinese  paper  money  began  to  filter  through. 
Incredulity  and  incapacity  to  comprehend  what  information  was 
placed  before  the  readers  and  students  in  Christendom,  prevented 
them  from  taking  advantage  of  what  little  was  actually  submitted  to 
them.  It  is  a  matter  of  some  interest  to  us  in  the  examination  of  this 
subject  to  see  what  knowledge  has  been  at  different  times  during  the 
past  six  hundred  years  at  the  command  of  one  who  would  master  the 
subject,  and  of  what  he  can  now  avail  himself. 

The  earliest  mention  of  the  Chinese  paper  of  early  days  to  be  found 
in  European  literature  was  made  by  a  Franciscan  friar  named  Rubruk  ^ 

2  Quoted  by  Vissering,  "On  Chinese  Cvurency,"  p.  26.  He  gives  as  author- 
ity "Recueil  de  divers  voyages  curieux  par  P.  Bergeron.  Voyage  de  Rubru- 
quis  en  Tartaric,"  p.  91.     Leide,  1729. 


^MMMWKSFi 


TLi^ATt'^^'^i 


Cd 


Four  hundred  wen  note  of  the  Yiian  Dynasty. 
Emperor,  She  Tsu ;  Period,  Che  Yiian;  A.D.  1264- 
1295.  This  form  of  note  was  for  current  use  and 
represents  the  currency  described  by  Marco  Polo. 
Reproduced  from  a  photostat,  taken  by  the  Massa- 
chusetts Historical  Society,  from  the  original  illus- 
tration in  Ch'tian  Pu  T'ung  Chih.  The  size  of  the 
original  is  8  by  33^  inches.  The  government  seals 
are  given  separately. 


DAVIS. —  CERTAIN  OLD  CHINESE  NOTES.  249 

or  Rubrouck  who  was  in  China  a  few  years  before  Marco  Polo  and  who 
simply  said  "The  common  money  of  Cathay  consists  of  pieces  of 
cotton-paper,  about  a  palm  in  length  and  breadth,  upon  which  certain 
lines  are  printed,  resembling  the  seal  of  Mangu  Khan."  This  men- 
tion anticipated  by  a  few  years  the  account  given  by  Marco  Polo  who 
was  in  China  for  a  period  of  about  twenty-five  years,  covering  practi- 
cally the  last  quarter  of  the  thirteenth  century.  Polo's  description  of 
the  paper  money  which  he  then  found  in  actual  use  in  China  as  a 
medium  of  trade,  was  minute  enough  in  detail  and  sufficiently  sug- 
gestive in  character  to  have  aroused  the  financiers  of  Christendom  to 
an  appreciative  sense  of  the  possible  uses  of  credit,  had  it  reached  the 
eyes  of  a  people  far  enough  advanced  in  knowledge  of  currency  and 
banking  to  have  comprehended  what  was  thus  laid  before  them.  It 
must  be  remembered,  however,  that  this  description  was  made  public 
in  the  days  of  Edward  III,  when  banking  as  a  profession  was  unknown, 
and  at  a  time  when  students  had  still  to  wait  about  one  hundred  j'ears 
before  they  should  see  a  printed  book.  Authors  then  had  to  rely  on 
manuscripts  as  the  medium  through  which  they  could  communicate 
with  the  public.  Eighty-five  of  the  Polo  manuscripts  which  served 
the  readers  in  those  days,  written  in  five  languages,  have  been  pre- 
served. It  is  doubtless  true  that  some  have  been  destroyed,  still  it 
must  be  remembered  that  such  manuscripts  were  in  their  day  precious 
things,  to  be  preserved  with  care,  read  and  passed  on.  It  is  obvious 
that  the  number  of  manuscripts  in  circulation,  which  could  have 
furnished  the  public  information  as  to  the  conditions  of  life  in  China, 
and  the  number  of  persons  who  could  have  profited  by  their  perusal 
were  very  limited.  Moreover,  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  stories 
of  travellers  like  Marco  Polo  were  received  with  incredulity,  so  that, 
even  after  it  became  possible  through  the  invention  of  moveable  types, 
for  writers  to  reach  a  larger  public  by  means  of  printed  books,  their 
influence  was  very  slight.  These  facts  adequately  explain  why 
Europe  failed  to  benefit  by  the  information  furnished  by  Marco  Polo. 
What  might  have  been  learned  at  that  time  concerning  this  subject, 
had  the  circumstances  been  favorable,  is  to  be  found  in  the  following 
words,  taken  from  Polo's  account  of  his  travels :  ^ 

"In  this  city  of  Kanbalu  is  the  Miat  of  the  grand  Khan,  who  may  truly  be 
said  to  possess  the  secret  of  the  alchemists,  as  he  has  the  art  of  producing  money 
by  the  following  process.  He  causes  the  bark  to  be  stripped  from  those  mul- 
berry-trees the  leaves  of  which  are  used  for  feeding  silk-worms,  and  takes 

3  The  Travels  of  Marco  Polo  the  Venetian,  with  an  Introduction  by  John 
Masefield,  London  and  New  York  (1907). 


250  PROCEEDINGS   OF  THE  AMERICAN  ACADEMY, 

from  it  that  thin  inner  rind  which  lies  between  the  coarser  bark  and  the  wood 
of  the  tree.  This  being  steeped,  and  afterwards  pounded  in  a  mortar,  until 
reduced  to  a  pulp,  is  made  into  paper,  resembling  (in  substance)  that  which 
is  manufactured  from  cotton,  but  quite  black.  When  ready  for  use,  he  has 
it  cut  into  pieces  of  money  of  different  sizes,  nearly  square,  but  somewhat 
longer  than  they  are  wide.  Of  these,  the  smallest  pass  for  a  denier  toumois; 
the  next  size  for  a  Venetian  silver  groat;  others  for  two,  five,  and  ten  groats; 
others  for  one,  two,  three,  and  as  far  as  ten  besants  of  gold.  The  coinage  of 
this  paper  money  is  authenticated  with  as  much  form  and  ceremony  as  if  it 
were  actually  of  pure  gold  or  silver;  for  to  each  note  a  number  of  officers, 
specially  appointed,  not  only  subscribe  their  names,  but  afiix  their  signets 
also ;  and  when  this  has  been  regularly  done  by  the  whole  of  them,  the  principal 
officer,  deputed  by  his  majesty,  having  dipped  into  vermilion  the  royal  seal 
committed  to  his  custody,  stamps  with  it  the  piece  of  paper,  so  that  the  form 
of  the  seal  tinged  with  the  vermilion  remains  impressed  upon  it,  by  which  it 
receives  full  authenticity  as  current  money,  and  the  act  of  counterfeiting  it  is 
punished  as  a  capital  offence.  When  thus  coined  in  large  quantities,  this 
paper  currency  is  circulated  in  every  part  of  the  grand  Khan's  dominions; 
nor  dares  any  person,  at  the  peril  of  his  life,  refuse  to  accept  it  in  payment. 
All  his  subjects  receive  it  without  hesitation,  because,  wherever  their  business 
may  call  them,  they  can  dispose  of  it  again  in  the  purchase  of  merchandise 
they  may  have  occasion  for;  such  as  pearls,  jewels,  gold,  or  silver.  With  it, 
in  short,  every  article  may  be  procured." 

Farther  on  Polo  says: 

"When  any  persons  happen  to  be  possessed  of  paper  money  which  from 
long  use  has  become  damaged,  they  carry  it  to  the  mint,  where,  upon  the 
payment  of  only  three  per  cent,  they  may  receive  fresh  notes  in  exchange. 
Should  any  be  desirous  of  procuring  gold  or  silver  for  the  purposes  of  manu- 
facture, such  as  of  drinking-cups,  girdles,  or  other  articles  wrought  of  these 
metals,  they  in  like  manner  apply  at  the  mint,  and  for  their  paper  obtain 
the  bullion  they  require.  All  his  majesty's  armies  are  paid  with  this  currency, 
which  is  to  them  of  the  same  value  as  if  it  were  gold  or  silver.  Upon  these 
grounds,  it  may  certainly  be  affirmed  that  the  grand  Khan  has  a  more  exten- 
sive command  of  treasure  than  any  other  sovereign  in  the  universe."  * 

The  corroboration  by  Sir  John  de  Mandeville,  of  the  fact  that  paper 
money  was  in  use  in  China  at  that  time,  will  not  perhaps  be  accepted 
as  testimony  of  much  value,  but  inasmuch  as  his  account  of  travel  is 
supposed  to  contain  much  that  was  appropriated  from  the  stories  of 

4  As  wUl  appear  later,  the  whereabouts  of  existing  examples  of  these  Mon- 
gol notes  are  unknown.  I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  Worthington  C.  Ford  for 
photostats  of  some  of  these  latter  from  illustrations  in  Chuan  Pu  Tung 
Chih,  a  Chinese  numismatical  work. 


A, 


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m  .^i  ^j^ 


Four  hundred  wen  note  of  the  Yiian  Dynasty.  Emperor, 
She  Tsu;  Period,  Che  Yiian;  A.D.  1264-1295.  This  form 
of  note  was  for  military  purposes  and  represents  the  cur- 
rency with  which  Marco  Polo  said  that  all  His  Majesty's 
armies  were  paid. 

Reproduced  from  a  photostat,  taken  by  the  Massachu- 
setts Historical  Society,  from  the  original  illustration  in 
Ch'ilan  Pu  T'ung  Chih.  The  size  of  the  original  is  9^ 
by  45^  inches.  The  government  seal  is  given  separately. 


DAVIS. —  CERTAIN  OLD  CHINESE  NOTES.  261 

other  writers,  it  may  be  that  it  will  have  some  weight.  He  simply 
says  that  the  emperor  did  not  depend  upon  money  but  on  "Lether 
emprented"  or  on  "Papyre." 

An  Arabian  traveller  named  Ibn  Batuta  covered  a  part  of  the  ground 
of  Polo's  travels  about  fifty  years  after  Polo,  and  left  behind  him  an 
account  of  the  Chinese  paper  currency.  This  was  written  in  Arabic 
and  was  not  so  full  as  that  of  Polo,  but  it  contained  much  that  might 
have  stimulated  financiers  in  the  use  of  credit,  if  they  could  have  read 
it.  Nothing  was  known  in  Europe  of  this  manuscript,  unless  the 
Moors  in  Spain  knew  about  it,  until  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  and  so  far  as  European  financiers  are  concerned,  it  cannot 
be  said,  that  they  were  so  situated  as  to  have  been  subject  to  its 
influence.     Nevertheless  his  story  is  well  worthy  of  examination. 

Like  Marco  Polo,  Batuta  was  astonished  to  see  pieces  of  paper 
used  in  place  of  coins  and  quaintly  expressed  himself  in  the  following 
language:  ^ 

"Their  transactions  are  carried  on  with  paper:....  As  to  the 
paper  every  piece  of  it  is  in  extent  about  the  measure  of  the  palm  of 
the  hand,  and  is  stamped  with  the  King's  stamp.  Five  and  twenty  of 
such  notes  are  termed  a  "  shat,"  which  means  the  same  thing  as  the 
dinar  with  us.  But  when  the  papers  happen  to  be  torn,  or  worn  out 
by  use,  they  are  carried  to  their  house,  which  is  just  like  a  mint  with 
us,  and  new  ones  are  given  by  the  King.  This  is  done  without  in- 
terest, the  profit  arising  from  the  circulation  accruing  to  the  King. 
When  any  one  goes  to  the  market  with  a  dinar  or  a  dirhem  in  his  hand, 
no  one  will  take  it  until  it  has  been  changed  for  their  notes." 

It  will  be  remembered  that  Marco  Polo  in  speaking  of  these  notes 
had  described  the  manner  in  which  the  fabric  upon  which  they  were 
printed  was  manufactured;  had  stated  that  the  color  of  the  paper 
was  black,  an  error  probably  of  the  translator,  since  the  actual  color 
was  dark  gray;  had  compared  the  oflice  from  which  they  were  issued 
to  a  mint;  had  spoken  of  the  official  seal  which  was  placed  upon  them; 
had  described  the  method  of  securing  new  notes  in  place  of  those 
which  were  worn  and  unfit  for  use,  stating  in  this  connection  that  a 
charge  of  three  per  cent  was  made  by  the  government;  had  given  the 
values  of  the  different  denominations  of  the  notes;  had  alleged  that 
they  were  of  different  sizes,  the  smaller  the  denominational  value  of 
the  note  the  smaller  the  size;  had  stated  that  there  was  a  law  against 


5  The  Travels  of  Ibn  Batuta  by  The  Rev.  Samuel  Lee.     B.  D.  London, 
p.  209  (1829). 


252  PROCEEDINGS   OF  THE   AMERICAN   ACADEMY. 

counterfeiting  these  notes  and  finally  had  asserted  that  their  circula- 
tion was  compulsory. 

It  is  somewhat  singular  that  Ibn  Batuta  should  have  touched  upon 
six  of  these  nine  points  in  Polo's  description,  omitting  only  the  method 
of  manufacture  of  the  fabric  of  the  notes,  which  he  merely  mentions 
as  paper  without  stating  the  color,  and  omitting  also  any  reference  to 
the  edict  against  counterfeiting,  as  well  as  any  account  of  the  com- 
pulsory nature  of  the  circulation;  although  he  does  say  that  a  traveller 
was  obliged  to  convert  his  foreign  coin  into  notes  in  order  to  make  use 
of  it  in  the  market.  He  speaks  of  only  one  size  of  notes  and  those  the 
small  notes  not  larger  than  the  palm  of  the  hand.  This  omission  may 
be  explained  by  the  fact  that  when  he  was  there,  Kublai  Khan  was 
no  longer  on  the  throne.  He  had  been  succeeded  by  Ch'ing  Tsung, 
and  the  emissions  during  the  reign  of  the  latter  were,  we  have  reason 
to  suppose,  uniform  in  size. 

Both  Marco  Polo  and  Ibn  Batuta  were  in  China  at  a  time  when  the 
notes  were  greatly  depreciated.  Some  writers  have  expressed  wonder 
at  their  not  being  impressed  with  the  fact  of  this  depreciation.  There 
is  no  occasion  for  wonder  at  this.  The  travellers  were  unfamiliar 
with  paper  money  and  were  surrounded  by  conditions  of  life  never 
before  seen  or  heard  of  by  them,  but  even  had  they  been  familiar  with 
the  currency  and  had  they  possessed  such  knowledge  of  prices  as  would 
have  enabled  them  to  measure  the  reduction  of  the  purchasing  power 
of  the  currency,  they  would  probably  have  been  impressed  only  with 
the  high  prices  and  would  not  have  been  likely  to  attribute  them  to 
the  degradation  of  the  currency,  precisely  as  we  see  our  government 
to-day  investigating  the  question  of  high  prices  and  simultaneously 
emitting  emergency  currency  —  thus  adding  fuel  to  one  of  the  causes 
of  high  prices. 


What  was  known  in  the  Eighteenth  Century. 

The  next  allusion  in  European  literature  to  the  old  Chinese  notes 
did  not  come  from  one  who  had  seen  them  in  circulation,  nor  did  it 
contain  within  itself  any  description  of  the  notes  or  of  their  current 
use,  which  would  make  it  of  value  to  us,  unless  an  allusion  to  the 
abandonment  of  paper  currency  should  prove  of  assistance  in  fixing 
the  date  of  that  event.  What  was  of  value,  however,  in  this  connec- 
tion, was  an  illustration  giving  the  inscriptions  on  the  one  kwan  Ming 
notes,   1368-1398,  with  a  translation.    The  work  containing  this 


.  fef  Jt  ila^    ^ 


^t-  la.'-   iV    l^lr-   il^. 
%-  /c  ^^  i*^-  #■ 


Drawing  of  a  one  kwan  Ming  note,  A.D.  1368-1398,  made 
by  a  Jesuit  father.  Reproduced  from  a  photostat,  taken  by 
the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  from  a  plate  in  Du 
H aide's  Description  de  la  Chine,  etc.,  etc.  The  border  of  the 
note  is  not  given.  The  picture  of  the  ten  strings  of  cash  is 
missing  in  the  panels  front  and  back.  There  is  but  one  seal 
given,  and  that  is  detached. 


DAVIS. —  CERTAIN   OLD   CHINESE   NOTES.  253 

allusion  was  put  forth  in  Paris  in  1735  by  Jean  Baptiste  Du  Halde,  a 
Jesuit  father.  It  consisted  of  a  collation,  made  up  from  the  relations 
of  the  Jesuit  missionaries  who  from  China  sent  to  the  central  oflfice  of 
the  order,  observations  on  the  geography,  the  zoology,  the  botany  of 
the  country,  and  also  on  the  manners,  the  customs  and  the  life  of  the 
people.  At  what  date  the  relation  accompanying  the  drawing  of  the 
note  was  sent  does  not  appear,  but  it  seems  probable  that  it  must 
have  been  in  the  latter  part  of  the  seventeenth  century,  or  possibly 
early  in  the  eighteenth.  When  Du  Halde's  description  of  China 
appeared,  the  financiers  of  Europe  were  no  longer  ignorant  of  the  power 
of  credit  and  of  the  dangers  of  its  use  in  the  form  of  paper  money. 
France  had  just  suffered  from  the  miseries  entailed  by  Law's  Miss- 
issippi scheme  and  England  had  but  just  emerged  from  the  troubles 
caused  by  the  South  Sea  bubble.  In  Massachusetts  Bay,  paper 
money,  after  nearly  fifty  years  of  use,  was  still  the  only  medium  of 
trade  in  the  Province.  The  value  of  Du  Halde's  book  was  recognized 
in  England  and  a  translation  with  some  abridgments  was  published 
there  as  early  as  1738.  The  brief  account  of  the  currency  given  by 
Du  Halde  was  preserved  and  appears  in  the  translation  in  the  follow- 
ing words:  ^ 

"In  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  Hung-v(i,  Founder  of  the  twenty-second 
dynasty,  called  Ming  ....  Money  was  become  so  very  scarce  that  they  paid 
the  Mandarins  and  soldiers  partly  in  Paper;  giving  them  a  sheet  of  paper 
sealed  with  an  Imperial  Seal,  which  passed  for  a  thousand  Uttle  copper  pieces, 
or  a  tael  of  silver.  Those  sheets  are  much  sought  after  by  such  as  build,  who  , 
hang  them  up  as  a  rarity  to  the  chief  beam  of  the  house,  the  people  and  even 
of  the  quahty,  being  so  as  to  imagine  [sic]  that  it  preserves  them  from  all 
misfortimes." 

Du  Halde  then  goes  on  to  state  that  this  paper  currency  was  aban- 
doned by  the  same  emperor  who  inaugurated  or,  perhaps  I  ought  to 
say,  revived  it. 

The  works  of  a  Chinese  author  which  have  been  made  use  of  by 
writers  on  the  topic  of  Chinese  paper  money,  the  characters  in  the  title 
of  which  have  been  anglicized  as  "  Tung  Keen  Kang  Muh"  and  trans- 
lated, "Condensation  of  the  Mirror  of  History,"  were  rendered  into 
French  in  1779-1783  by  Father  Joseph  de  Mailla.^    There  was  no 

6  A  Description  of  the  Empire  of  China,  etc.,  from  the  French  of  P.  J.  Du 
Halde.     1,  p.  332  (1738). 

7  Histoire  Grenerale  de  la  Chine  ou  annales  de  cet  Empire,  traduites  du 
Tong-Kieng-Kang-Mou.     Paris  (1779-1783). 


254  PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ACADEMY. 

special  reason  why  economists  should  turn  their  attention  to  the  pages 
of  Du  Halde  or  to  those  of  de  Mailla,  but  it  cannot  be  denied  that 
there  was  information  at  their  command  in  both  these  publications, 
and  probably  from  time  to  time  readers  were  stimulated  by  it  to 
further  research. 

For  a  period  of  about  forty  years  after  this  the  subject  does  not 
appear  to  have  excited  either  orientalists  or  economists.  At  any  rate 
there  are  no  contributions  on  the  subject  in  the  literature  of  the  day 
diu-ing  this  period  which  have  attracted  attention  enough  to  cause 
inclusion  in  this  review  of  the  authorities  who  have  contributed  to 
knowledge  or  stirred  up  interest  in  the  subject.  When  next  the  matter 
is  taken  up,  China  is  no  longer  a  mysterious  land  shut  off  from  the 
rest  of  the  world.  Students  have  mastered  to  some  extent  the  diffi- 
culties which  the  language  interposes  to  prevent  free  interchange 
of  thought  between  the  Chinese  and  foreigners,  and  knowledge  has 
been  acquired  that  there  is  a  vast  amount  of  historical  information 
treasured  in  the  pages  of  Chinese  books  on  the  shelves  of  their  great 
Ubraries.  The  time  has  come  when  sinologues  can  make  topical 
investigations  of  matters  strictly  chinese. 


The  Subject  Fairly  Opened  Up. 

The  first  approach  to  the  subject  of  Chinese  paper  money  in  a  truly 
scientific  spirit  was  made  by  Heinrich  Julius  Klaproth,  a  German 
oriental  scholar  and  traveller,  who  published  an  article  in  the  Paris 
"Journal  Asiatique,"  in  November,  1822,  in  which  he  furnished  the 
European  world  with  a  brief  account  of  the  chinese  paper  money 
experience. 

This  article  was  translated  and  published  in  the  Journal  of  the 
American  Oriental  Society,^  by  John  Pickering,  one  of  the  founders  of 
that  Society  and  at  one  time  President  of  the  American  Academy  of 
Arts  and  Sciences,  the  matter  by  this  publication  being  brought  to 
the  attention  of  American  students. 

In  1824,  Klaproth  published  a  little  volume  entitled  "Memoires 
relatifs  a  TAsie,"  in  which  he  incorporated  his  article  on  the  paper 
currency.  The  subject  was  there  treated  in  a  general  way  and  neces- 
sarily with  great  brevity,  covering  the  dates  from  807  A.D.  down  to 

8  Vol.  I.,  p.  136,  etseq. 


DAVIS. —  CERTAIN  OLD  CHINESE  NOTES.  255 

1455  A.D.  This  research  has  proved  of  great  assistance  to  subsequent 
students  and  has  been  much  cited  and  quoted.  It  is  based  upon 
three  Chinese  works,  historical  in  character  and  covering  so  much 
ground  that  a  consecutive  story  of  the  experience  in  the  use  of  paper 
money  was  not  reasonably  to  be  expected  to  be  found  in  their  pages. 
What  they  did  disclose  was,  however,  of  enormous  importance  and  of 
great  value. 

Two  of  the  Chinese  books  referred  to  by  Klaproth  are  in  the  New 
York  Public  Library.  Their  titles  indicate  the  broad  field  which  they 
seek  to  cover.  One  of  them  has  been  translated  by  some  "Anti- 
quarian Researches,"  by  others  "  General  examination  of  Records  and 
Scholars."  The  work  was  originally  published  in  1322  and  afterwards 
continued  in  a  supplement,  in  158G.^  The  original  and  supplement 
are  bound  in  twenty-three  thick  volumes  and  in  the  opinion  of  Mr. 
Wilberforce  Eames,  to  whose  courtesy  I  am  indebted  for  the  informa- 
tion herein  given  concerning  these  Chinese  books,  they  would  if  trans- 
lated into  some  European  language  make  about  fifty  or  sixty  volumes 
of  the  size  of  the  Dictionary  of  National  Biography.  They  constitute 
according  to  Mr.  Eames,  an  encyclopaedia  of  every  subject  connected 
with  the  government,  history,  statistics,  literature,  religion  etc.,  of 
the  Chinese  Empire. 

The  title  of  the  other  Chinese  work  referred  to  as  being  in  the  New 
York  Public  Library  is  generally  given  as  "  Condensation  of  the  Mirror 
of  History."  ^°  It  was  originally  written  in  the  twelfth  century  and  was 
afterwards  continued  to  1476  A.D.  It  was  afterwards  brought  down 
to  1644,  A.D.,  and  was  reprinted  in  the  early  part  of  the  19th  century. 
It  is  bound  in  24  volumes.  The  third  work  referred  to  by  Klaproth 
is  a  literary  and  scientific  encyclopaedia.^^  An  edition  in  the  British 
Museum  bears  date  1642. 

Klaproth  was  the  pioneer  among  topical  investigators  of  Chinese 
paper  money.  The  conditions  under  which  he  made  his  research  were 
such  that  had  he  not  been  attracted  by  the  subject  the  opportunity 
afforded  for  work  of  this  sort  must  soon  have  welcomed  some  other 
student.  China  no  longer  kept  her  doors  closed  against  the  entrance 
of  foreigners.  Sinologues  were  at  work  endeavoring  to  master  the 
obscurities  of  the  Chinese  language,  and  knowledge  was  being  spread  of 
the  historical  treasures  hidden  in  the  pages  of  the  voluminous  Chinese 

9  Wan  Heen  Tiing  Kaou,  by  Ma-twan-lin.  The  supplement  was  compiled 
by  Wang  Ke. 

10  Tung  Keen  Kang  Muh. 

11  Keun  Shoo  Pe  Kao. 


256  PROCEEDINGS   OF  THE  AMERICAN  ACADEMY. 

works  which  filled  the  shelves  of  their  great  libraries.  If  it  had  not 
been  Klaproth  it  must  soon  have  been  somebody  else. 

In  1837,  Edouard  Biot,  published  a  series  of  papers,  or  rather  a 
single  paper  which  was  scattered  through  several  numbers  of  the 
"Journal  Asiatique."  ^^  It  was  based  mainly  on  information  derived 
from  the  Chinese  work  by  Ma-twan-lin,  one  of  the  authorities  made 
use  of  by  Klaproth,  and  although  an  interesting  contribution  towards 
knowledge  of  the  subject,  Biot's  paper  did  not  contain  much  that  was 
new. 

In  1842,  Baron  S.  de  Chaudoir  published  at  St.  Petersburg,  a 
numismatical  work  on  the  coins  of  the  Orient.  ^^  This  volume  which  is 
folio  in  size,  is  illustrated  by  sixty  plates  on  which  are  depicted  up- 
wards of  one  thousand  coins.  Fourteen  pages  are  given  to  a  history 
of  the  paper-money  of  China,  and  engravings  of  the  face  and  back 
of  a  one  kwan  Ming  note  are  to  be  found  in  the  plates.  Statistics 
as  to  the  amount  of  paper-money  which  had  been  emitted  at  certain 
specified  dates  are  given  by  Klaproth  and  Biot.  Chaudoir  adds  to 
these  a  table  of  the  annual  emissions  of  Mongol  notes  from  1260  to 
1330.  Chaudoir  relied  upon  an  interpreter  for  the  translation  of  the 
Chinese  works  which  he  cited  or  quoted,  among  which  that  of  Ma-twan- 
lin  was  conspicuous.  His  work  is  a  distinct  addition  to  the  knowledge 
on  the  stibject  acquired  by  students  up  to  that  time,  one  might  almost 
say  up  to  the  present  time. 

In  1847,  Robert  Montgomery  Martin,  published  a  work  in  two 
volumes,  entitled  "China,  political,  commercial  and  social,"  etc. 
In  the  first  volume  on  pages  174  and  175,  he  gives  a  perfunctory  ac- 
count of  Chinese  paper  money,  based  apparently  on  Klaproth. 

In  1848,  Frederick  Edwyn  Forbes  published  "  Five  Years  in  China," 
in  which  he  incorporated  a  brief,  unsatisfactory  description  of  the 
Chinese  paper  money  episode. 

The  chronological  position  of  the  publications  of  Martin  and  Forbes, 
entitles  them  to  notice,  even  though  their  contributions  to  knowledge 
upon  the  subject  were  not  of  much  value,  for  at  the  time  when  they 
wrote,  English  writers  had  not  taken  up  the  subject  and  whatever 
was  contributed  by  those  gentlemen,  no  matter  how  small  the  amount, 
was  a  challenge  to  the  attention  of  students. 

Henry  Dunning  MacLeod  in  his  Dictionary  of  Political  Economy, 

12  Memoire  sur  le  Syst^me  Monetaire  des  Chinoise." 

13  Recueil  de  monnaies  de  la  Chine,  du  Japan,  de  la  Cor6e,  d'Anam  et  de 
Jave  au  nombre  de  plus  de  mille,  Pr6c6d6  d'une  introduction  historique  sur 
les  monnaies.     St.  Petersbourg  (1842). 


#f  fi  ^a^k 


Sketch  of  a  one  kwan  Ming  note,  A.D.  13G8-1398,  in  the  Imperial 
Academy  of  Science,  St.  Petersburg.  Reproduced  from  a  photostat, 
taken  by  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  from  a  plate  in  Baron 
Chaudoir's  Recueil  de  Monnaies  de  la  Chine,  etc.  The  seal  on  the  lower 
panel  is  printed  in  red  color  in  the  original.  The  draughtsman,  in  repro- 
ducing the  design  on  the  border,  has  practically  eliminated  the  dragon. 
The  original  sketch  is  about  12  by  73^  inches  in  size. 


DAVIS. —  CERTAIN  OLD  CHINESE  NOTES.  267 

London,  1863,  under  the  titles  of  Banking  and  of  Currency,  deals 
with  Chinese  paper  money.  He  relies  upon  Elaproth  and  Biot,  and 
under  "Currency"  gives  a  chronological  narrative  of  the  events 
connected  with  the  episode.  He  says:  "We  have  given  this  account 
of  Chinese  paper  money  because  we  are  not  aware  that  any  account 
of  it  has  ever  been  published  in  English."  Had  the  dictionary  been 
completed  this  account  might  have  attracted  more  attention,  but 
as  it  was  made  public  in  an  incomplete  work  and  was  hidden  under  the 
title  "  currency,"  it  made  little  or  no  impression. 

MacLeod  also  refers  to  Chinese  paper  money  in  his  Theory  and  Prac- 
tice of  Banking. 

In  1873,  in  the  Dictionnaire  de  I'ficonomic  Politique,  Coiu-celle 
Seneuil  describes  the  Chinese  paper  money  experience  at  some  length, 
imder  the  title  "Papier-Monnaie.  He  relies  on  Biot,  and  while 
he  gives  an  account  of  the  "Deer  Skin  Money,"  he  adds  in  a  note 
"ces  morceaux  de  peau  ne  constituaient  par,  k  proprement  parler, 
un  papier  monnaie." 

In  1874,  A.  M.  Benadakis,  communicated  a  paper  on  this  subject 
to  the  Journal  des  Economistes  etc.  He  quotes  freely  from  the 
Chinese  work  of  Ma-twan-lin  which  has  already  been  referred  to 
several  times,  and  speaks  of  the  writer  as  "  The  learned  Ma-twan-lin, 
author  of  an  encyclopedia  of  100  volumes"  ^*  —  and  adds  an  estimate 
of  the  value  of  his  work,  "  He  knows  the  true  theory  of  money  and  of 
paper,  and  what  he  has  written  is  striking  in  its  precision  and  good 
sense." 

In  1875,  William  Stanley  Jevons  in  "Money  and  the  Mechanism 
of  Exchange  gives  a  brief  account  of  Chinese  paper  money.  He  relies 
upon  Benadakis  and  Coiu'celle  Seneuil. 

In  1877,  W.  Vissering,  published  at  Leyden,  a  book  on  chinese  coins 
and  paper  money.  ^^  The  writer  has  incorporated  in  his  publication, 
the  more  important  sections  of  Ma-twan-lin's  celebrated  work  bearing 
on  this  special  subject.  The  chinese  characters  of  the  original  publi- 
cation are  given  by  Vissering  in  connection  with  a  translation,  and 
this  again  is  accompanied  by  foot-notes  explanatory  of  the  special 
meanings  which  he  has  given  to  some  of  these  characters.  The  first 
paper  money  that  Vissering  finds  was  in  use  in  809  A.D.  He  stated 
what  knowledge  the  chinese  author  furnishes  on  this  and  other  emis- 


14  Jovimal  des  Economistes,  etc.    March,  pp.  366,  367  (1874). 

15  On  Chinese  Currency,  Coins  and  Paper  money.     W.  Vissering.     Leide, 
(1877). 


258  PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ACADEMY. 

sions  and  also  gives  the  alleged  results  arising  from  the  emissions, 
down  to  about  1210  A.D.  He  does  not  deal  with  the  continuation 
of  the  Chinese  work  which  was  published  in  1586. 

In  1885,  Alexander  Del  Mar  briefly  described  Chinese  paper  money 
in  his  History  of  Money  in  Ancient  Countries.  Klaproth  was  his 
main  authority. 

Topical  Publications  in  the  Orient. 

In  1889,  Shioda  Saburo  published  a  paper  on  Chinese  paper  money 
in  the  Journal  of  the  Peking  Oriental  Society,  a  contribution  pre- 
sumably made  at  a  meeting  of  that  society.  ^^  Saburo  was  from  Japan 
and  evidently  attacked  the  subject  wdth  indefatigable  industry.  His 
obvious  lack  of  knowledge  as  to  the  economic  situation  produced  by 
the  fluctuation  of  the  quantity  of  currency  in  circulation  impairs  the 
value  of  his  paper.  It  is,  however,  a  learned  dissertation  notwith- 
standing much  obvious  confusion  of  thought  on  the  part  of  the  writer. 
The  paper  is  founded  upon  translations  from  Chinese  authors  but  it  is 
difficult  to  separate  the  expressions  of  opinion  of  the  writer  from 
those  which  he  attributes  to  the  authors  whom  he  quotes. 

In  1905,  Joseph  Edkins,  a  missionary  to  China,  published  a  book 
which  was  devoted  to  the  development  from  Chinese  sources  of  methods 
of  revenue  and  taxation  in  the  past  in  China;  and  incidentally  to  the 
story  of  the  use  of  paper  money,  so  far  as  that  story  was  told  by  the 
Chinese  authors  made  use  of  by  the  writer.  ^^ 

During  a  long  life  spent  in  China,  Edkins  had  acquired  a  prodigious 
amount  of  knowledge  of  the  Chinese  language  and  also  of  its  literature, 
and  had  published  numerous  books  on  different  subjects  connected 
with  Chinese  life  and  history  mainly,  however,  devoted  to  philological 
topics.  His  "Banking  and  Prices"  has,  scattered  through  its  pages 
in  a  desultory  way,  substantially  the  same  knowledge  concerning 
paper  money  as  had  already  been  furnished  by  Chaudoir,  with  a  little 
additional  information,  but  all  of  it  buried  under  a  mass  of  statements 
about  other  subjects,  which  make  the  matter  relating  especially  to 
paper  money  difficult  of  discovery.     A  writer  who  made  use  of  "  Bank- 

16  The  origin  of  the  Paper  Currency  of  China.  Journal  of  the  Peking 
Oriental  Society,  3,  No.  4.  I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  Edward  B.  Drew  for  call- 
ing my  attention  to  this  paper. 

17  Banking  and  Prices  in  China,  by  J.  Edkins,  D.D.  Shanghai,  printed  at 
the  Presbjrterian  Mission  Press  (1905). 


DAVIS. —  CERTAIN   OLD  CHINESE   NOTES.  259 

ing  and  Prices  in  China  "  characterized  the  book  in  the  following  words : 
"  A  rich  mass  of  conglomerate  for  the  patient  student."  The  book  has 
a  distinct  value,  for  it  is  the  work  of  a  learned  sinologue,  but  the 
confusion  in  the  arrangement  of  its  contents  and  the  difficulty  experi- 
enced in  determining  whether  one  is  meeting  the  opinions  of  some 
Chinese  historian  or  those  of  Joseph  Edkins,  tend  greatly  to  obscure 
its  merits.  It  is  not  to  be  found  in  the  Harvard  Library,  or  the  Boston 
Public  Library. 

In  1907,  Mr.  H.  B.  Morse,  a  member  of  the  staff  of  Sir  Robert 
Hart,  published  in  the  Journal  of  the  North  China  Branch  of  the 
Royal  Asiatic  Society,  ^^  a  communication  dealing  with  the  currency 
question  including  paper  money.  This  was  illustrated  with  a  litho- 
graphic reproduction  of  a  one  kwan  Ming  note,  1368-1398,  in  colors, 
and  two  engravings  of  government  notes  emitted  during  the  Tae- 
Ping  rebellion  which  are  also  printed  in  colors.  This  article  was 
incorporated  in  Morse's  book  on  the  trade  and  administration  of 
China,  which  appeared  in  1908.^^  Morse  relied  largely  on  Klaproth 
and  Edkins.  It  is  from  his  book  that  the  translation  already  given 
of  the  inscriptions  on  a  Ming  note  was  taken.  If  it  may  be  said  of 
Klaproth  that  he  brought  the  subject  of  chinese  paper  money  within 
easy  reach  of  students,  the  claim  may  be  advanced  for  Morse  that 
his  book  was  the  first  that  actually  brought  the  matter  to  public 
notice. 

In  1911,  H.  A.  Ramsden  published  in  Yokohama,  a  pamphlet 
thirty-seven  pages  in  length  entitled,  "  Chinese  paper  money."  It  is 
in  the  nature  of  a  numismatical  manual  and  contains  descriptions  of  a 
great  number  of  these  old  chinese  notes,  sufficiently  definite  to  enable 
a  collector  to  identify  a  specimen  which  has  come  into  his  hands,  pro- 
vided it  belongs  to  one  of  the  emissions  thus  described.  No  informa- 
tion is  furnished  as  to  the  language  used  in  the  inscriptions  on  the  face 
of  the  notes.  Ramsden  acknowledges  that  he  is  indebted  to  a  chinese 
work  for  much  valuable  information.  A  copy  of  this  work,^°  which  is 
an  elaborate  numismatical  treatise  profusely  illustrated,  with  repre- 
sentations of  coins  and  occasionally  of  a  note,  is  to  be  found  in  the 
Essex  Institute,  at  Salem.  Examination  shows  that  of  these  old 
notes,  there  are  given  in  this  publication  eighty-one  representations 


18  Journal,  &c.,  38,  pp.  17-31. 

19  The  Trade  and  Administration  of  the  Chinese  Empire,  by  H.  B.  Morse. 
London  (1908). 

20  Chuan  Pu  Tung  Chih  or  Greneral  account  of  money  and  coins  —  given  by 
Ramsden  as  C'hien  Pu  Tung  Chih. 


260         PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ACADEMY. 

or  pictures,  furnishing  all  the  details  of  the  inscriptions  and  drawings 
on  the  face  of  the  notes  as  fully  as  an  actual  impression  from  the  wood- 
cut or  stereotype  of  the  note  itself  would  have  done.  What  is  perhaps 
more  remarkable  is  that  the  inscriptions  on  the  notes  and  their  general 
arrangement,  while  not  absolutely  uniform  from  dynasty  to  dynasty, 
nevertheless  correspond  so  closely  with  each  other  and  with  that  of  the 
Ming  note,  the  inscriptions  on  which  were  translated  by  Morse,  that 
one  might  almost  conceive  that  many  of  the  notes  would  have  circu- 
lated in  the  days  of  the  Ming  dynasty  without  attracting  much  atten- 
tion. The  legends  on  the  face  of  the  notes  are  said  to  be  legible  with 
ease  by  any  person  who  can  read  modern  Chinese  characters  and  those 
inscriptions  which  are  written  in  seal  characters  yield  readily  to  the 
concentration  of  a  little  eflPort  on  the  part  of  the  student  who  is  at  all 
familiar  with  the  various  seal  characters.  The  oldest  among  the 
notes  delineated  in  this  work  was  emitted  in  650  A.D.,  about  one 
hundred  and  seventy-five  years  before  the  quarrelsome  bands  of 
Anglo  Saxons  who  constituted  the  Heptarchy  were  brought  under  one 
control  and  organized  into  the  government  which  has  become  known  as 
England.  It  seems  incredible  that  at  a  time  when  English  History 
as  such  had  not  yet  begun,  the  chinese  should  have  developed  the 
manufacture  of  paper  and  cultivated  the  art  of  block  printing,  making 
use  of  characters  which  have  persisted  to  this  day.  Yet  that  is  what 
is  revealed  by  the  representation  of  the  currency  of  this  period  to 
be  found  in  this  Chinese  numismatical  work.  My  friend,  Mr.  Edward 
B.  Drew,  formerly  a  Commissioner  of  Customs  on  the  staff  of  Sir 
Robert  Hart,  to  whom  I  am  deeply  indebted  for  his  patient  examina- 
tion of  the  inscriptions  on  these  notes,  at  my  instance  scrutinized  the 
date  of  the  notes  of  this  early  emission  carefully  and  he  says  there 
can  be  no  doubt  that  the  characters  which  fix  the  date  of  the  issue 
actually  represent  a  period  covering  the  years  650-656  A.  D.  Ramsden 
hesitates  to  endorse  the  authenticity  of  this  emission.  He  gives  it 
place  because  the  author  or  compiler  of  the  chinese  work  above 
referred  to  claims  that  it  was  the  first  in  use,  but  says  in  that  con- 
nection, "I  would  like  to  add,  however,  that  no  other  authority 
seems  to  share  this  contention,  which  is  unsupported  by  historical  or 
other  data."  As  to  this  emission  being  the  first  —  an  examination  of 
the  inscriptions  on  the  face  of  the  notes  will  disclose  the  penalty  for 
counterfeiting  and  the  offer  of  a  reward  to  whomsoever  shall  furnish 
information  which  will  lead  to  the  arrest  of  the  counterfeiter.  It  is 
not  probable  that  these  clauses  could  have  been  incorporated  in  the 
inscriptions  on  the  notes  of  the  first  emission.     It  would  seem  as 


0 


^3S 


yf-  7«^ 


IX 


W  ^n-  W    it  t? 

^  ^1  ;^  -f^        ^ 

>1  i^  -t  # 
f  -^  ai. 


XT 


V_/ 


I 


Ten  kwan  note  of  the  Tang  Dynasty.  Period,  Yung  Hui;  A.D.  650- 
656.  Reproduced  from  a  photostat,  taken  by  the  Massachusetts  His- 
torical Society,  from  the  original  illustration  in  Ch'uan  Pu  T'ung  Chih. 
The  size  of  the  original  is  9  by  5  J^  inches.  The  government  seal  is  given 
separately  in  Ch'uan  Pu  T'ung  Chih. 


DAVIS. —  CERTAIN  OLD  CHINESE  NOTES.  261 

though  the  desirability  of  holding  the  threat  of  this  penalty  over  the 
heads  of  evil-doers  must  have  resulted  from  experience.  If  then  we 
accept  these  illustrations  in  the  Chinese  work,  as  representations  of 
notes  actually  emitted  about  650  A.D.  it  would  follow  that  it  is  quite 
probable  that  there  were  previous  issues. 

On  the  point  of  there  being  no  other  authority  to  share  the  conten- 
tion, the  question  may  be  asked.  Where  did  the  author  procure  his 
picture?  It  is  not  conceivable  that  the  compiler  of  the  numismatical 
work  deliberately  manufactured  the  design.  If  he  did  not,  then  his 
picture  must  represent  an  actual  note  that  he  has  seen,  or  it  must 
have  been  appropriated  from  some  other  numismatical  work,  the  latter 
being  the  more  probable  supposition. 

A  sketch  of  the  history  of  Chinese  paper  money  appeared  in  the 
North  China  Herald  (Weekly  Edition)  December  21,  1912.  It  was 
dated  at  Ching  Kiang  and  was  signed  T.  M.  Bowem.  It  covered  the 
period  from  the  middle  of  the  twelfth  century  down  to  the  first  half 
of  the  fifteenth  and  was  obviously  based  on  Klaproth  and  Morse. 
Mr.  Bowern  traces  the  ownership  of  a  number  of  these  one  kwan  Ming 
notes  into  the  hands  of  different  individuals.  There  is  also  some 
contributory  information  on  this  subject  in  the  issue  of  December  14, 
1912,  of  the  same  paper. 

At  this  point  the  question  of  what  sources  of  information  have  been 
at  given  times  in  the  past  and  what  now  are  at  command  of  a  student, 
may  be  abandoned.  The  matter  has  been  followed  down  to  1912  and 
has  brought  to  light  Ramsden's  manual,  through  which  we  learn  that 
he  has  recorded  the  details  of  two  hundred  and  sixty-nine  varieties  of 
notes  with  sufficient  definiteness  to  permit  of  identification  and  classi- 
fication. Scattered  references  to  emissions  are  to  be  found  on  the 
pages  of  some  of  the  works  to  which  reference  has  been  made.  It  may 
be  said  that  we  know  something  about  at  least  three  hundred  varieties 
of  these  notes,  and  that  there  are  still  chronological  gaps  to  be  filled. 


What  Oriental  Scholars  know  about  existing  Specimens 
OF  THE  Notes. 

Up  to  this  point  no  special  effort  has  been  made  to  indicate  where  a 
person  interested  can  find  specimens  of  these  notes  and  what  examples 
he  can  find  at  any  given  point.  We  know  that  Chinese  collectors  have 
long  treasured  them  and  European  residents  in  China  agree  that  sped- 


262  PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ACADEMY. 

mens  are  to  be  found  in  the  hands  of  these  collectors.  This  knowledge 
does  not  advance  us  much  in  our  pursuit  of  information  which  can  be 
made  use  of  by  an  investigator  who  is  not  in  the  Orient  and  who  does 
not  speak  or  read  Chinese.  We  can,  however,  turn  to  the  pages  of 
those  who  have  written  on  the  subject  and  especially  to  those  works 
which  have  been  illustrated  by  engravings  or  photographic  pictures 
of  notes.  In  some  instances  we  shall  find  that  the  author  has  furnished 
a  translation  of  the  inscriptions  or  legends  on  the  notes  depicted  in 
his  works.  This  examination  may  not  reveal  much  that  is  of  value, 
but  it  must  be  made  if  we  would  cover  the  ground  thoroughly. 

The  oldest  representation  of  a  Chinese  note,  excluding  of  course 
from  this  statement  all  illustrated  Chinese  numismatical  works,  is  to 
be  found  in  Du  Halde.  It  is  a  line  engraving,  giving  the  outline  of 
the  panelling  of  the  face  and  back  of  a  one  kwan  Ming  note  of  the 
Hung  Wu  period,  without  the  pictorial  representation  of  the  ten  strings 
and  without  the  ornamental  decorations  of  the  border.  The  inscrip- 
tions are  however  reproduced  whether  horizontal  or  vertical,  whether 
in  ordinary  or  square  seal  characters,  precisely  as  in  the  original. 
The  notes  of  this  emission  apparently  had  three  government  seals 
impressed  on  them,  two  on  the  face  and  one  on  the  back.  The  engrav- 
ing, in  du  Halde,  gives  no  indication  that  there  was  any  seal  either  on 
the  face  or  on  the  back  of  the  notes,  but  in  Du  Halde's  text  it  will  be 
remembered  that  he  spoke  of  payment  being  made  to  mandarins  and 
to  soldiers  by  giving  them  a  piece  of  paper  sealed  with  the  Imperial 
seal.  He  therefore  furnishes  a  detached  picture  of  the  government 
seal  without  stating  that  it  was  stamped  upon  the  note.  The  back 
of  the  note  is  also  represented  showing  the  panelling,  but  as  in  the 
picture  of  the  face  of  the  same,  the  panel,  which  should  contain  the 
ten  strings  of  cash,  is  vacant.  A  translation  of  the  inscriptions  is 
furnished  showing  phonetically  in  our  alphabet  what  the  Chinese  words 
are  and  also  giving  the  French  equivalents.  AVhat  Du  Halde  says 
about  the  rarity  of  these  notes  and  about  their  being  treasured  and 
hung  up  in  the  houses  in  China  has  already  been  stated.  It  depends 
somewhat  upon  the  date  of  the  relations  which  treated  of  this  note, 
what  the  value  of  this  observation  amounts  to.  The  Manchus  suc- 
ceeded the  Mings  about  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century.  If 
at  that  date  these  notes  were  thus  treasured,  it  would  tend  to  confirm 
those  who  assert  that  the  abandonment  of  paper  money  took  place 
under  the  Ming  dynasty  and  not  at  the  accession  of  the  Manchus. 
Any  evidence  that  tends  to  determine  the  exact  time  when  paper 
money  was  abandoned  and  specie  resumed  is  welcome. 


DAVIS. —  CERTAIN   OLD   CHINESE   NOTES.  263 

Chaudoir  is  authority  for  the  statement  that  in  1842  there  were 
three  one  kwan  notes  of  the  Ming  dynasty  in  The  Imperial  Academy 
of  Science  at  St.  Petersburg,  two  in  the  museum  and  one  in  the 
cabinet.  He  gave  on  his  plates  an  engraved  representation  of  one 
of  these  with  a  single  impression  of  the  government  seal  in  vermilion 
on  the  lower  panel.  The  picture  of  the  ten  strings  of  cash  was  given 
in  place  on  the  face  of  the  note,  but  the  figure  of  the  panel  on  the 
back  of  the  note  which  ought  to  contain  these  strings  is  left  vacant. 
The  decoration  of  the  border  of  the  note  is  floral  in  character  there 
being  nothing  in  the  pattern  that  would  at  first  sight  suggest  the 
dragon  patterns.  The  peculiarities  of  these  particular  representa- 
tions are  the  single  seal  on  the  note  and  the  lack  of  the  picture  of  the 
ten  strings  on  the  back.  The  floral  pattern  for  the  decoration  of  the 
border  is  also  unusual. 

It  is  undoubtedly  the  case  that  the  artists  who  have  undertaken  to 
furnish  complete  and  perfect  copies  of  these  notes  have  labored  under 
great  disadvantages  and  have  been  obliged  to  make  use  of  the  imagina- 
tion to  fill  in  existing  vacancies.  The  paper  of  which  the  notes  are 
made  has  little  or  no  sizing,  has  never  been  calendered  and  is  more 
like  a  felt  than  a  paper.  On  such  a  surface  as  this  the  impression 
from  the  wood  cut  or  stereotype  plate  of  the  bold  Chinese  characters 
would  be  more  distinct  than  the  delicate  ornamentation  of  the  borders 
and  would  prove  to  be  more  lasting  when  the  note  was  subjected  to 
use.  Such  also  would  be  the  relative  wearing  capacity  of  the  vermilion 
government  seals,  especially  when  superimposed.  The  red  ink  did 
not  seem  to  have  the  same  permanency  of  form  as  the  black.  It 
preserved  its  color  indefinitely,  but  apparently  did  not  adhere  closely 
to  the  paper.  On  some  of  the  badly  worn  specimens  which  have 
been  preserved  there  is  scarce  a  trace  of  the  red  seals  left.  It  may  be 
that  the  note  which  is  delineated  in  Chaudoir  originally  had  more 
than  one  seal  and  it  is  probable  that  the  engraver  must  have  called 
largely  upon  his  imagination  to  restore  the  single  seal  that  he  gives, 
and  to  depict  the  perfect  ornamentation  of  the  floral  border. 

Chaudoir  makes  the  following  statement  relative  to  the  notes  which 
have  been  preserved:  "It  seems  that  these  notes,  namely:  those  of 
1000  cash,  are  the  only  ones  that  have  come  down  to  us,  for  according 
to  the  statement  of  persons  attached  to  the  Russian  Mission  at  Peking, 
they  do  not  know  of  any  other  even  in  China." 

Col.  Henry  Yule  in  his  edition  of  Polo's  travels,^^  published  in 

21  The  Book  of  Marco  Polo,  etc.     London,  Note  to  Ch.  XXIV,  1,  p.  414 

(1875). 


264  PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN   ACADEMY. 

1875,  gives  a  reduced  photographic  picture  of  the  face  of  one  of  these 
notes,  bearing  two  seals  and  adds  that  there  was  difficulty  in  making 
a  legible  copy  of  the  inscriptions  on  the  seals.  He  asserts  that  he  has 
"never  heard  of  the  preservation  of  any  note  of  the  Mongols,"  but 
adds  that  "some  of  the  Ming  survive  and  are  highly  valued  as  curi- 
osities in  China."     He  procured  his  picture  at  St.  Petersburg. 

Vissering  in  his  work  on  Chinese  currency  gives  a  photographic 
process  picture  of  the  face  of  a  one  kwan  Ming  note  and  also  furnishes, 
in  black  ink,  drawings  of  the  two  red  seals  which  originally  were  to  be 
found  there.  He  confesses  that  the  work  of  the  engraver  in  construct- 
ing a  representation  of  the  impression  of  the  seals  has  not  been  without 
its  difficulties  but  he  believes  that  the  pictures  of  the  impressions  are 
substantially  correct.  Vissering  also  went  to  St.  Petersburg  for  his 
note. 

Edkins  says  that  collectors  obtain  notes  of  the  Mongol  dynasty 
from  Japan  and  adds:^^  "  Notes  are  found  in  the  possession  of  Chinese 
men  of  wealth.  It  is  a  rare  thing  to  see  them  in  shops.  There  is  no 
fixed  price  for  those  curious  relics  of  the  13th  and  14th  centuries." 
The  statement  that  Mongol  notes  are  obtained  from  Japan  must  pass 
for  what  it  is  worth.  There  is  no  evidence  of  its  truth  at  hand  to-day. 
It  is  curious,  however,  to  note  the  time  limitation  which  he  puts  when 
he  speaks  of  the  prices  of  the  notes.  He  absolutely  excludes  from 
consideration  all  the  earlier  emissions. 

T.  Dyer  Ball,  a  member  of  the  civil  service  at  Hong  Kong,  a  resident 
in  China  for  upwards  of  forty  years  and  the  author  of  several  books  on 
China,  conceived  the  idea  some  years  since  of  publishing  a  Chinese 
common-place  book,  in  which  under  alphabetical  arrangement,  in- 
formation was  furnished  concerning  selected  topics  touching  on  life 
in  China.^^  Under  the  title  "Banks  and  Bank  Notes,"  he  tells  what 
he  knows  concerning  old  and  new  Chinese  notes.  He  says:  "The 
earliest  specimen  known  to  exist  in  any  country  was  purchased  in 
1890  by  the  British  Museum,  where  it  may  be  seen  in  the  King's 
Library  placed  under  a  glass  case." 

H.  B.  Morse,  writing  in  1908,  said:  ^*  "  I  have  been  unable  to  obtain 

a  copy  of  a  Mongol  government  note I  give,  however,  a  reduced 

representation  of  a  note  for  1000  cash,  issued  by  the  first  Ming  Em- 
peror, (Hung  Wu,  A.D.,  1368-1398),  who  may  be  assumed  to. have 
followed  closely  the  procedure  and  copied  the  forms  of  his  predecessor," 


22  Banking  and  Prices  in  China,  p.  232. 

23  Things  Chinese,  fourth  Edition,  p.  79  (1906). 

24  The  Trade  and  Administration  of  the  Chinese  Empire,  p.  141. 


ft  '  >   ''  '^': 


>cti»'ti  II ii^'aft^V'i«wfci«.f'i^i-'.«>»  • 


One  kwan  note,  Almg  Dj^nasty.  Emperor,  T'ai  Tsu;  Period, 
Hung  Wu;  A.D.  1368-1398. 

Reproduced  from  the  original,  which  is  darker  than  this  half-tone. 

The  paper  measures  13J^  by  8^  inches;  the  impression,  123^  by  8M 
inches.  The  note  had  the  value  given  on  the  back  and  originally  bore 
two  vermilion  seals  on  the  face  and  one  on  the  back. 

From  the  collection  of  Andrew  McFarland  Davis. 


t 


DAVIS. —  CERTAIN   OLD   CHINESE  NOTES.  265 

In  the  "Imprint"  (a  publication  of  the  American  Bank-Note  Co.) 
for  November,  1908,  there  is  a  photographic  process  picture  of  a 
Chinese  government  note  for  one  kwan.  The  note  is  there  described 
as  a  "  Chinese  Bank  Note  of  the  Ming  Dynasty  about  1400." 

The  numismatic  manual  published  in  1911,  by  H.  A,  Ramsden, 
President  of  the  Yokohama  Numismatical  Society,  was  illustrated 
with  a  flawless  picture  of  a  one  kwan  Ming  note,  every  detail  of  the 
ornamental  border  being  represented  in  absolutely  perfect  condition. 
Mr.  Ramsden  says  with  reference  to  this,  "  The  reduced  reproduction 
figuring  in  Plate  I  of  this  Manual,  was  taken  from  a  clear  and  genuine 
specimen  in  my  own  collection  and  is  consequently  a  true  and  faithful 
copy  of  the  original  Notes  themselves."  This  is  probably  true,  so  far 
as  the  impression  from  the  plate  goes,  but  it  must  be  remarked  that 
there  is  not  a  sign  in  the  picture  of  the  government  seals. 

The  Numismatist,  a  New  York  illustrated  monthly  devoted  to  the 
science  of  Numismatics,  gives  a  process  picture  of  the  American  Bank 
Note  Company's  note  in  Vol.  XXV,  No.  5,  May,  1912. 

This  review  of  the  information  to  be  culled  from  the  works  of  the 
most  conspicuous  writers  on  the  subject  of  Chinese  paper  money  as  to 
what  they  know  about  existing  specimens  has  resulted  in  showing 
that  the  one  kwan  note  of  the  Ming  dynasty,  and  of  the  period  of 
Hung  Wu,  is  the  only  note  made  use  of  by  these  authors  to  illustrate 
their  works,  and  further  has  disclosed  the  fact  that  several  of  these 
writers  have  frankly  declared  that  so  far  as  they  knew,  no  other  of 
these  old  Chinese  notes  has  been  preserved.  Ramsden  intimates  that 
it  would  not  be  difficult  to  make  a  collection  of  Chinese  notes,  but  when 
it  comes  to  illustrating  his  Manual  he  makes  use  of  a  one  kwan  Ming 
note  of  the  Hung  Wu  period. 

The  only  writer  other  than  Chinese  who  has  furnished  any  pictorial 
illustration  of  any  other  form  of  note  than  the  one  above  mentioned 
is  Dr.  S.  W.  Bushell,^'^  who  has  given  us  through  the  publications  of 
the  Peking  Oriental  Society,  first,  a  representation  of  a  fragment  of  a 
wood-cut  for  a  note  of  the  second  half  of  the  twelfth  century,  second, 
the  full  text  of  the  inscriptions  on  a  note  issued  in  1214,  and  finally 
the  picture  of  what  appears  to  be  the  stereotype  plate  of  a  two  hun- 
dred cash  note  of  the  Ming  dynasty.  Hung  Wu  period.  Dr.  Bushell 
asserts  that  this  plate  is  an  actual  coin,  and  that  the  inscription  on  its 
face  shows  that  it  belongs  to  the  period  of  T'sung  Ch^n  and  to  the 


25  In  a  communication  published  in  the  Journal  of  the  Peking  Oriental 
Society.     3,  No.  4,  pp.  308-312. 


266  PEOCEEDINGS   OF   THE   AMERICAN  ACADEMY. 

year  1639.  If  the  Doctor  is  correct,  the  value  attached  to  the  dates 
on  the  face  of  these  notes,  to  which  implicit  faith  has  been  given  as 
indicating  the  period  of  their  emission,  will  be  greatly  diminished, 
for  here  we  have  what  seems  in  the  picture  to  be  a  Hung  Wu  note, 
which  is  said  to  bear  an  inscription  of  a  later  date.  Whatever  it  is, 
whether  note  or  coin,  the  illustration  given  by  Dr.  Bushell,  in  no 
way  contravenes  or  limits  what  was  said  about  the  one  kwan  notes 
of  that  particular  period  being  the  only  existing  notes  at  command 
of  illustrators,  since  Dr.  Bushell  says  that  he  extracted  what  he 
furnishes  concerning  the  Ming  note  from  a  Chinese  work,  the  Chi  Chin 
So  Chien  Lu,  and  further  the  text  of  the  note  of  1214  given  by  the 
Doctor  is  also  taken  from  a  Chinese  book. 


Twelve  Old  Chinese  Notes  and  Four  of  the  Tae  Ping  Rebel- 
lion Period. 

I  have  already  stated  the  circumstances  connected  with  my  acquisi- 
tion of  the  first  of  these  Chinese  notes.  This  particular  note,  it  will  be 
remembered,  was  described  as  "  mounted  on  limp  board  with  embroid- 
ered work  at  back."  My  examination  of  the  authorities  treating  of 
Chinese  notes  disclosed  to  me  the  meaning  of  this  mounting,  which  was 
all  the  more  plain  when,  on  receiving  the  note,  I  found  that  the 
"embroidered  work  at  back"  proved  to  be  Chinese  brocade.  It  was 
evident  that  I  had  received  one  of  those  notes  of  which  the  Jesuit 
fathers  WTOte,  according  to  Du  Halde,  that  they  are  hung  up  "as  a 
rarity  to  the  chief  beam  of  the  house,  the  people  and  even  of  the 
quality  being  so  as  to  imagine  that  it  preserves  them  from  all  mischief." 
Notwithstanding  the  loss  of  opportunity  to  inspect  the  back  of  the 
note  through  the  mounting  on  limp  board,  the  added  interest  given 
to  the  specimen  from  the  fact  that  it  had  actually  hung  upon  the 
walls  of  a  Chinese  house,  possibly  for  two  or  three  centuries,  was  more 
than  a  compensation. 

My  examination  of  the  authorities  who  had  written  upon  the  sub- 
ject of  Chinese  paper  money  had  shown  me  that  government  notes  had 
already  been  in  use  certainly  between  five  and  six  hundred  years,  and 
perhaps  longer,  when  the  specimen  that  was  in  my  possession  was 
emitted.  Concerning  existing  specimens  I  had  ascertained  that 
outside  the  collections  of  Chinese  men  of  means,  there  were  none  other 
known  than  the  one  kwan  Ming  note  emitted  somewhere  about  1375. 


DAVIS. —  CERTAIN  OLD  CHINESE  NOTES.  267 

Moreover,  it  was  plain  from  the  pains  taken  by  the  North  China  Herald 
to  trace  the  ownership  of  specimens  of  those  notes,  that  even  in  China, 
it  was  a  matter  of  interest,  among  the  English  residents,  to  follow  up 
the  destination  of  such  specimens,  in  the  evident  belief  that  they  were 
the  only  existing  representatives  of  the  great  paper  money  experience 
of  China  in  early  days,  which  were  likely  to  be  found  outside  Chinese 
collections. 

In  the  year  1912,  my  interest  was  greatly  stimulated  by  receiving 
by  mail  a  cutting  from  the  Sunday  New  York  Sun  of  an  article  on 
Chinese  paper  money,  which  was  illustrated  by  a  picture  of  a  one  kwan 
Ming  note,  having  the  legend  on  the  vertical  panels  enclosing  the 
characters  which  state  the  denominational  value  of  the  note  and  also 
enclosing  the  pictorial  representation  of  the  ten  strings  of  cash,  written 
in  ordinary  Chinese  instead  of  square  seal  characters.  My  efforts  to 
ascertain  whether  this  was  a  picture  of  an  actual  note  or  if  it  was  from 
a  drawing,  in  which  the  artist  had  substituted  a  translation  for  the 
ancient  seal  characters  proved  fruitless.  I  was,  however,  told  from  the 
Sun  office  that  the  original  came  from  and  was  returned  to  the  Ameri- 
can Bank  Note  Company.  The  photograph  of  the  note  in  possession 
of  that  company  shows  that  their  note  does  not  differ  in  any  way 
from  the  ordinary  one  kwan  Ming  note  described  by  Morse;  depicted 
by  Chaudoir;  a  sketch  of  which  is  given  by  Du  Halde;  and  of  which 
so  many  photographic  copies  can  readily  be  obtained.  The  proba- 
bility that  the  substitution  of  ordinary  characters  for  square  seal 
characters  in  this  inscription  was  the  work  of  a  draughtsman  and  that 
there  was  no  note  bearing  the  inscription  in  ordinary  characters  is 
strongly  reinforced  by  the  fact  that  Chaudoir  says  that  "  in  all  poste- 
rior emissions"  —  that  is,  after  the  one  kwan  note  was  put  forth  by 
Hung  Wu  —  the  form  of  that  note  was  preserved,  "for,"  says  he, 
"the  minister  of  finance  having  asked  the  Emperor  Tching  Tsou  in 
1403  to  change  the  form  of  the  eight  tchouan  characters  [the  square 
seal]  could  not  obtain  permission." 

In  the  summer  of  1914, 1  met  at  York  Harbor,  an  English  gentleman, 
Mr.  James  Orange,  who  had  spent  many  years  in  China,  who  had 
collaborated  with  a  friend  in  the  publication  of  an  illustrated  work 
on  certain  specimens  of  Chinese  porcelain  and  who  himself  was  evi- 
dently an  authority  on  matters  which  interest  the  ordinary  collector. 
My  interest  being  keen  on  the  subject  of  the  notes,  I  asked  him  if  he 
had  any.  He  told  me  that  he  had  not,  but  that  a  friend  of  his  in 
London,  Mr.  A.  W.  Bahr,  had  a  number,  some  of  which  were  very 
old.     Mr.  Bahr  had  himself  lived  many  years  in  China,  was  in  1910 


268  PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ACADEMY. 

Hon.  Secretary  of  the  North  China  Branch  of  the  Royal  Asiatic 
Society,  and  had  in  1911  published  a  volume  entitled  "Old  Chinese 
Porcelain  and  Works  of  Art  in  China,"  a  work  which  was  beautifully 
illustrated  and  which  was  in  substance  a  catalogue  of  an  exhibition 
held  in  Shanghai,  November,  1908.  In  his  preface  to  this  work  Mr. 
Bahr  acknowledges  his  indebtedness  to  Mr.  James  Orange  for  aid  in 
running  the  volume  through  the  press. 

It  will  readily  be  understood  that  the  mere  gain  of  knowledge  where 
some  of  these  notes  were  lodged,  was  an  advance  for  me  and  that  I 
gladly  availed  myself  of  the  opportunity  thus  afforded  to  secure 
through  Mr.  Orange's  intermediation  some  knowledge  of  what  the 
notes  owned  by  Mr.  Bahr  actually  were.  On  his  part  Mr.  Orange 
readily  undertook  the  correspondence  with  the  result  that  he  after- 
ward furnished  me  with  a  list  of  the  notes  in  Mr.  Bahr's  possession 
and  ultimately  offered  them  to  me  at  a  price  which  he  regarded  as 
reasonable.  Having  full  confidence  in  both  of  these  gentlemen  I 
purchased  the  notes. 

In  the  course  of  my  correspondence  with  Mr.  Orange  he  quoted 
from  Mr.  Bahr's  letter  to  him  as  follows : 

"I  may  remark  that  the  two  Tang  notes  are  very  rare  and  scarce.  I  know 
of  no  others  in  existence;  as  well  as  the  one  of  the  West  Liao  Tartar  dynasty. 
For  anyone  interested  in  these  things  they  will  realize  it  is  a  unique  oppor- 
tunity      I  guarantee  them  to  be  absolutely  authentic  and  genuine.    You 

will  remember  the  paper  of  the  Tang  notes  is  quite  light  in  colour,  soft  to  the 
touch,  and  as  a  paper  perfectly  made;  the  Sung  and  Liao  are  also  of  nearly  a 
similar  quaUty,  but  have  been  darkened  by  age,  or  they  may  originally  have 
been  of  a  grayish  colour.  Later  ones  are  of  a  stiffer  paper  and  more  resembling 
the  Chinese  paper  used  now;  for  instance,  the  earliest  notes  can  be  crumpled 
into  a  ball  in  the  hand  and  hardly  a  crease  found  when  stretched." 

Concerning  Mr.  Bahr's  capacity  to  judge  of  the  notes,  Mr.  Orange 
wrote,  "  I  consider  Mr.  Bahr  one  of  the  best,  if  not  the  [best],  experts 
on  Chinese  matters,  speaking  and  reading  the  language  perfectly, 
he  has  the  power  of  acquiring  which  others  must  lack." 

Mr.  Bahr  himself  in  writing  to  me  said,  "I  fully  guarantee  these 
eighteen  notes  to  be  quite  authentic  as  to  the  periods  they  are  de- 
scribed, as  I  have  had  good  opportunities  during  my  thirty-two  years' 
residence  in  China  to  differentiate  the  right  from  the  wrong  ones " 

Thinking  that  there  might  possibly  be  something  of  interest  in  the 
story  of  the  acquisition  of  the  notes  in  China,  I  wrote  Mr.  Bahr  asking 
him  to  tell  me  where  and  how  he  happened  upon  them.     He  replied : 


Nine  kwan  note  of  the  Tang  Dynasty.  Emperor,  Wu  Tsung;  Period, 
Hwei  Ch'ang;  A.D.  841-847.   Reproduced  from  the  original. 

The  paper  measures  lOJ/2  by  7  inches;  the  impression,  93^  by  5J^  inches. 
The  red  seals  are  not  photographically  accurate. 

From  the  collection  of  Andrew  McFarland  Davis. 


DAVIS. —  CERTAIN   OLD   CHINESE   NOTES. 


269 


"Regarding  how  these  Notes  came  into  my  possession,  I  am  sorry  to  say 
that  it  was  not  in  a  very  romantic  manner  that  they  were  secured,  as  they 
were  purchased  by  a  dealer  in  antique  coins,  etc.  in  Shanghai  from  a  family 
at  Soo-Chow  (a  provincial  city  about  200  miles  from  Shanghai)  who  had  them 
in  their  possession,  they  say,  for  two  or  three  generations.  This  refers  to  the 
Tang,  Sung,  and  Liao  Notes.  The  Ming  notes,  as  well  as  those  of  the  Ching 
period,  were  purchased  from  separate  sources,  from  an  old  bookseller  in  Peking. 
I  had  these  Notes,  at  the  time  of  the  purchase,  carefully  looked  over  by  most 
of  the  old  and  rare  book  experts  in  Shanghai  and  they  were  all  unanimous  that 
the  Notes  were  absolutely  genuine  of  the  periods  represented.  These  men 
of  course,  understand  the  papers  that  were  used  in  the  various  periods,  the 
printing,  etc.  through  their  intercourse  with  the  early  books  of  China 

I  may  remark  before  closing  that  a  Mr.  P.  Petrucci,  an  authority  in  Paris 
of  Chinese  Painting,  and  also  a  Chinese  scholar,  who  saw  these  notes,  after 
carefully  examining  them,  expressed  them  to  be  in  his  opinion  quite  authentic 
and  said  he  thought  the  Tang  paper  was  manufactm-ed  very  probably  from 
bamboo  pulp." 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  notes  furnished  by  Mr.  Orange: 

Particulars  of  old  Chinese  Bank  Notes: 


Tang  Dynasty 

Emperor  Hing  Chang 

A.D.    841/6 

2  notes 

West  Liao  Tartar 

Dynasty 

Emperor  Hsian  Ching 

A.D. 1136/41 

1  note 

Sung  Dynasty 

Emperor  Chien  Tao 

A.D. 1165/73 

2  notes 

Ming  Dynasty 

Emperor  Himg  Wu 

A.D. 1368/98 

3  notes 

Ming  Dynasty 

Emperor  Himg  Tsi 

A.D. 1425/26 

6  notes 

Ching  Dynasty 

Emperor  Hien  Feng 

A.D. 1851/61 

4  notes 

During  Tae  Ping  rebelUon. 


About  the  Notes  Themselves. 


The  two  Tang  notes  are  both  of  them  yellow  in  color.  The  paper 
is  light  and  flexible,  having  little  or  no  sizing.  The  denominations 
are  expressed  pictorially  in  shoes  of  silver,  but  the  Chinese  characters 
indicating  the  denomination  are  interpreted  to  mean  "kwans."  The 
kwan  was  the  equivalent  of  10  strings  of  copper  cash,  or  of  one  tael  or 
ounce  of  silver.  The  term  "sycee"  which  is  used  by  Ramsden  as 
the  equivalent  of  "  shoe  of  silver  "  is  used  by  Morse  to  express  silver 
itself  —  thus  he  says  "shoe  of  sycee."  The  shoes  of  which  Morse 
spoke  weighed  about  50  taels,  but  he  also  referred  to  "obvoid 
Imnps"  of  silver  in  circulation,  weighing  up  to  two  or  three  taels. 


270  PROCEEDINGS   OF  THE   AMERICAN  ACADEMY. 

The  pictorial  representation  of  value  must  refer  to  these  rather  than 
to  the  50  tael  shoes. 

The  vermilion  seals  on  these  notes  were  apparently  printed  on  the 
paper  before  the  impression  of  the  note  itself  was  taken  in  black 
ink.  They  are  in  fairly  good  condition,  being  in  fact  so  well  preserved 
that  by  making  use  of  both  notes  they  could  readily  be  reconstructed 
by  an  engraver.  There  would  be  little  or  no  call  for  him  to  use  his 
imagination.  The  paper  of  the  two  notes  is  not  of  exactly  the  same 
size.     The  exterior  lines  of  the  impressions  measure  9j  X  5$  inches. 

Ramsden  translates  the  heading  to  the  notes :  "  Great  T'ang  Gen- 
eral Use  Treasure  Paper  Money."  The  interpretation  of  these  seal 
characters  by  Mr.  Drew  "  Great  Tang  dynasty  circulating  precious 
note"  is  identical  in  substance.  The  characters  at  the  right  side  of 
the  note  in  the  border  panel  read  "  For  universal  circulation  through- 
out the  Empire";  those  on  the  left  "To  be  universally  accepted." 
The  six  vertical  rows  of  characters  at  the  bottom,  contain  first  an 
announcement  of  the  dynasty  and  the  department  of  the  government 
authorized  by  imperial  authority  to  issue  the  note;  second,  a  state- 
ment that  the  note  is  to  circulate  on  the  same  footing  as  silver  all  over 
the  country  for  the  convenience  of  the  people;  third,  that  the  penalty 
for  counterfeiting  is  death  by  beheading;  fourth,  that  a  reward  will 
be  given  the  person  who  brings  in  the  counterfeiter,  in  the  case  of  the 
one  kwan  note,  of  two  hundred  and  sixty  taels,  in  the  case  of  the  nine 
kwan  note  of  seven  hundred  and  fifty  taels ;  and,  finally,  if  any  person 
knowingly  conceals  the  counterfeiting  he  shall  be  punished  the  same 
as  the  counterfeiter.  Then  follows  the  name  of  the  emperor,  or  the 
particular  period  of  the  reign, —  if  the  reign  was  thus  divided, —  fol- 
lowed by  the  characters  representing  —  year, —  month, —  day,  the 
particular  year,  month  and  day  being  filled  in  with  a  brush  when  the 
note  was  issued.  These  specific  dates  put  on  by  a  brush,  very  soon 
wore  off  when  the  note  was  in  use,  but  the  custom  that  prevailed  for  an 
emperor  to  break  his  reign  up  into  periods  and  designate  every  few 
years  a  new  group  of  consecutive  years  by  a  new  title,  enables  us  to 
place  the  emission  of  any  of  the  old  chinese  notes  within  a  few  years. 
The  entire  reign  of  an  emperor  is  indeed  near  enough  for  our  purposes. 
In  this  particular  case  the  period  Hwei  Ch'ang  is  given  on  the  notes. 
It  happens  however  that  the  reign  of  the  Emperor  Wu  Tsung  covered 
the  same  period,  namely  841-847.  It  will  thus  be  seen  that  we  can 
fix  within  six  years  the  date  of  the  emission  of  these  notes. 

The  decorative  pattern  of  the  border  at  the  top  is  made  up  of  the 
dragon  pattern;  at  the  bottom  of  conventional  waves;  and  at  the 
sides  on  the  lower  half  of  conventional  representations  of  clouds. 


# 


•;  -r^ 


Wr:  F 


',':.     4V-. 


1  -- 


Three  kwan  note,  Western  Liao  Dyna.s;y.  Emperor,  Kan  T'ien 
How;  Period,  Hien  Ts'ing;  A.D.  1136-1142.  Reproduced  from  the 
original,  which  is,  however,  somewhat  darker  than  this  half-tone. 

The  paper  measures  9%  by  75^  inches ;  the  impression,  7% 
by  4^  inches. 

The  vestiges  of  the  impressions  of  two  government  seals  in  ver- 
miUon  can  be  traced  on  the  face  of  the  note. 

From  the  collection  of  Andrew  McFarland  Davis. 


DAVIS. —  CERTAIN   OLD   CHINESE   NOTES.  271 

The  note  of  650  A.D.,  of  which  we  have  a  pictorial  representation  in 
Chuan  Pu  Tung  Chih,  was  emitted  at  a  period  so  far  back  in  historical 
period  that  there  was  no  England  in  existence  under  that  name.  The 
two  Tang  notes  that  we  have  just  considered  were  in  circulation  in 
China  during  the  childhood  of  Alfred  the  Great,  at  a  period  in  history 
so  far  back  that  Scott  did  not  venture  to  seek  in  those  times  for  a  hero 
for  one  of  his  romances.  The  contrast  between  the  cultivated  condi- 
tions of  a  society  which  could  make  use  of  paper  money,  in  any  form 
or  in  any  manner,  and  which  could  also  have  produced  such  admirable 
specimens  of  workmanship  and  art,  as  are  preserved  for  us  in  these 
notes,  with  English  life  at  the  same  date,  when  the  government  then 
being  evolved  was  in  its  infancy;  when  there  was  neither  paper  nor 
block  printing  in  use;  nor  could  there  be  found  anywhere  save  possibly 
in  some  monastery  any  person  who  could  read  or  write,  does  not  need 
that  we  should  dwell  upon  it.  The  more  one  thinks  of  it,  the  more 
the  wonder  grows.     It  seems  incredible. 

The  Western  Liao  three  kwan  note  was  issued  in  the  period  1136- 
1142.  The  decorations  of  the  border  are  perfunctory  in  the  extreme. 
It  was  emitted  through  the  Board  of  Revenue  to  be  used  for  general 
military  purposes.  The  penalty  for  counterfeiting  was  decapitation 
and  the  reward  for  the  arrest  of  the  counterfeiter  500  taels  silver. 
Mr.  Bahr  expressed  some  doubt  as  to  whether  the  color  of  the  note 
might  not  have  changed.  Ramsden  gives  the  prescribed  color  for 
some  of  the  emissions;  in  the  case  of  this  particular  emission  the 
designated  color  was  blue.  It  is  a  fair  presumption  that  some  effort 
was  made  to  have  the  notes  of  a  given  issue  uniform  in  appearance. 
The  distinctive  dark  color  of  the  paper  of  this  note  makes  it  quite 
effective  but  it  would  not  seem  that  it  could  ever  have  been  of  a  blue 
tint.  The  marks  of  the  two  seals  on  the  face  of  the  note  are  still 
apparent  though  the  separate  seal  characters  of  the  inscription  on  the 
seals  are  totally  obliterated.  The  paper  of  the  notes  measures  9f  by 
7f  inches.     The  impression  of  the  note  itself,  7f  by  4f  inches. 

The  two  Sung  notes  are  of  the  same  color  as  the  Liao  note.  Rams- 
den says  of  these  also  that  the  prescribed  color  was  blue.  The  period 
of  the  emission  was  1165-1173.  The  impressions  of  the  wood  cut  on 
the  notes  measure  in  the  one  case  8|  by  5 j  inches,  in  the  other  9  by  5j 
inches.  The  paper  has  about  three  eighths  of  an  inch  margin  all 
around.  The  decoration  of  the  border  is  inartistic  and  conventional. 
The  notes  were  emitted  by  the  Board  of  Civil  Offices.  They  were 
for  general  circulation  and  were  to  be  of  equal  value  with  copper 
cash.  The  counterfeiter  was  to  be  punished  by  decapitation  and  the 
person  who  arrested  a  counterfeiter  was  to  be  rewarded,  in  the  case  of 


272  PROCEEDINGS   OF  THE  AMERICAN   ACADEMY. 

the  70  kwan  note  with  eleven  hundred  taels  of  silver;  in  the  case  of 
the  100  kwan  note,  with  fourteen  hundred  taels.  If  local  officers  con- 
doned or  concealed  counterfeiters  they  would  be  subject  to  punish- 
ment. The  traces  of  the  two  government  seals  on  the  face  of  the 
notes  are  quite  evident. 

The  Ming  one  kwan  note  of  the  period  1368-1398  has  already  been 
fully  described,  it  being  the  note  translated  by  Morse. 

The  six  notes  of  the  Ming  dynasty  and  of  the  period  1425-1426  are 
printed  on  paper  of  substantially  the  same  color  as  the  Liao  and  Sung 
notes.  Ramsden  says  that  the  prescribed  color  was  blue  black.  The 
denominations  are  10,  20,  30,  70,  90  and  100  wen  —  the  wen  being 
the  copper  cash.  They  were  therefore  of  small  value  and  were  in- 
tended for  general  circulation.  The  paper  is  uniformly  four  inches  in 
width,  but  the  notes  vary  from  10  to  lOj  inches  in  length.  The  im- 
pressions on  the  notes  vary  slightly  in  length,  running  from  9  to 
8f  inches  in  length,  but  having  a  uniform  width  of  3f  inches.  They 
were  defined  to  be  War  period  notes  and  were  emitted  on  petition  of 
the  Grand  Council,  for  military  purposes.  The  counterfeiter  was  to  be 
decapitated.  The  reward  for  the  informer  or  arrester  was  for  the  10 
cash  note  11  taels  silver;  for  the  20  cash  note  13  taels  silver;  for  the 
30  cash  note  15  taels  silver;  for  the  70  cash  note,  23  taels;  for  the  90 
cash  note,  27  taels;  and  for  the  100  cash  note,  29  taels.  The  deco- 
rations of  the  border  are  of  the  same  inferior  character  as  those  of  the 
Liao  and  Sung  notes. 

The  four  notes  emitted  under  the  Ching  dynasty  during  the  Tae 
Ping  troubles  (1851-1862)  are  curiosities  but  cannot  be  classed  as 
antiquities.  The  one  tael  and  the  five  tael  notes  each  have  five 
dragons  in  the  border  ornamentation.  The  500  wen  and  2000  wen 
notes  each  make  use  of  two  dragons  in  the  decorative  treatment  of  the 
border.  The  paper  is  white  and  is  sized.  The  notes  are  printed  in 
blue,  although  some  of  the  characters  are  stamped  in  black  ink  and 
in  the  dates  the  brush  is  used.  There  are  several  government  seals. 
Morse,  in  his  article  in  the  Journal  of  the  North  China  Branch  of  the 
Royal  Asiatic  Society,  Vol.  XXXVIII,  1907,  says  of  these  notes: 
"From  A.D.  1403,  it  may  be  said,  or  at  any  rate  from  some  time  in 
the  reign  of  Yung-lo  (A.D.  1403-1425)  there  were  no  fiduciary  issues 
by  the  government,  either  of  the  Ming  or  the  Tsing,  until  we  come  to 
the  troubled  times  of  Hien-feng  (A.D.  1851-1861)  when  the  necessi- 
ties of  the  Treasury  drove  it  to  this  method  of  replenishing  its  depleted 
reserves."  He  then  quotes  from  Bushell,  a  detailed  description  of 
the  notes,  and  a  statement  that  they  depreciated  so  rapidly  that  in 


Seventy  kwan  note,  Sung  Dynasty.  Emperor,  Hiao  Tsung;  Period, 
K'ien  Tao;  AD.  1165-1174.  Reproduced  from  the  original,  which  is 
darker  than  this  half-tone. 

The  paper  measures  93^  by  5M  inches;  the  impression,  8J^  by  5J^ 
inches. 

The  marks  of  two  vermilion  seals  can  be  seen  on  the  face  of  the  note. 

From  the  collection  of  Andrew  McFarland  Davis. 


DAVIS. —  CERTAIN  OLD  CHINESE  NOTES.  273 

1861  they  were  sold  by  Dutch  auction  in  the  streets  of  Peking  at  a 
discount  of  97  per  cent. 


What  Chinese  Historians  say  of  the  Notes. 

Our  examination  of  the  notes  themselves  has  brought  to  our  atten- 
tion certain  features  connected  with  the  respective  emissions  of 
which  they  are  representative.  There  remains,  however,  to  be  con- 
sidered, the  information  which  may  be  acquired  from  the  accounts 
of  the  Chinese  historians,  as  to  the  functions  of  the  notes,  as  to  their 
fluctuations,  and  as  to  the  character  of  the  support  received  by  them 
from  the  government  from  time  to  time. 

The  numismatic  manual  of  Ramsden  is  the  only  one  among  all  the 
works  cited,  so  arranged  as  to  give  off-hand  any  idea  of  the  chronology 
of  the  emissions.  The  fact  that  the  empire  was  at  times  administered 
as  a  whole  and  at  other  times  broken  up  into  two  or  more  governments, 
all  of  which  simultaneously  emitted  notes,  is  likely  to  produce  much 
confusion  in  the  mind  of  an  investigator,  who  is  not  familiar  with  the 
eras  of  the  dynasties  and  the  areas  under  their  respective  control. 
The  dynastic  arrangement  by  Ramsden,  of  his  manual,  relieves  this 
confusion  somewhat  and  the  simultaneous  parallelism  of  the  emission 
of  different  dynasties  thereby  disclosed  accounts  for  some  of  the 
perplexities  occasioned  by  the  statements  of  Chinese  writers.  It  is 
obvious  that  the  student  who  found  in  Chaudoir  that  in  1168  copper 
plates  were  first  made  use  of  for  printing  notes,  wood  cuts  alone  up  to 
that  time  having  served  that  purpose,  would  be  surprised  when  he 
found  on  the  third  page  thereafter,  the  statement  made  that  in  1277, 
the  Mongols  first  made  use  of  copper  plates  in  substitution  for  the 
wood  cuts  from  which  they  had  previously  printed  the  notes.  If 
however  he  were  familiar  with  Chinese  history,  he  would  realize  that 
the  Mongol  conquerors  had  merely  adopted  at  that  date  a  practice 
that  they  found  in  use  by  their  more  cultivated  neighbors  whose 
territory  they  had  invaded.  This  single  illustration  will  show  that 
one  who  undertakes  to  examine  this  subject  even  if  he  follows  in  the 
footsteps  of  Eiu'opean  interpreters,  needs  to  have  some  knowledge  of 
Chinese  history,  would  he  comprehend  clearly  what  he  is  dealing  with. 

Again,  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  in  attempting  to  discover 
through  Chinese  records  the  various  experiences  of  China  during  this 
long  period  of  the  use  of  paper  money,  we  are  compelled  to  struggle 
against  the  difficulties  interposed  by  a  language  which  is  not  easy  to 


274  PROCEEDINGS   OF  THE   AMERICAN   ACADEMY. 

translate.  If  we  turn  to  one  of  the  Chinese  titles  already  quoted, 
we  find  that  the  same  characters  are  interpreted  by  different  scholars 
in  one  case,  to  mean  "Antiquarian  Researches"  and  in  another  to 
read  "  General  Examination  of  Records  and  Scholars." 

In  the  January  number  of  the  Atlantic  Monthly  there  is  an  article 
entitled  "Secret  Annals  of  the  Manchu  Court,"  contributed  by  two 
well  known  English  sinologues,  Messrs.  Backhouse  and  Bland.  In  this 
article  they  quote  the  title  of  a  work,  as  "Reminiscences  of  a  Time 
of  Suspicion  and  Panic."  A  foot-note  announces  that  the  literal 
translation  of  this  title  is  "Monkey-like  Suspicions  and  Panic  at  the 
Cry  of  a  Bird."  Periphrasis  of  this  sort  may  in  a  general  way  be 
typical,  but  such  a  wide  variation  as  this  from  the  literal  must  be 
uncommon,  and  is  introduced  merely  to  show  one  of  the  difficulties 
met  by  the  translator. 

We  have  seen  that  Chaudoir  says  that  copper  plates  were  first 
used  by  the  Mongols  in  1277.  Saburo,  WTiting  about  the  Mongol 
notes  says:  "At  first  the  printing  machines  were  made  of  wood,  but 
in  the  13th  year  [1276]  it  [sic]  was  replaced  by  machines  made  of  copper 
or  brass."  It  is  to  be  presumed  that  the  wooden  printing  machines 
of  Saburo  were  the  wood  cuts  from  which  the  notes  were  printed, 
while  the  copper  machines  were  the  plates  which  we  have  learned 
elsewhere  were  introduced  by  the  Mongols  about  this  time. 

It  is  stated  that  Edkins  the  author  of  "Banking  and  Prices  in 
China,"  was  called  upon  by  Sir  Robert  Hart  to  translate  into  chinese 
a  regulation  concerning  goods  passing  over  the  bar  at  the  mouth  of  a 
river.  He  effected  the  translation,  but  made  use  of  the  chinese 
character  for  bar  which  is  associated  with  cocktails,  thus  putting  in 
force  a  customs  regulation  on  goods  of  quite  another  character  from 
what  was  intended. 

These  illustrations  bring  fairly  before  us  the  obstacles  encountered 
by  one  who  seeks  to  render  in  English  an  equivalent  for  sentences 
expressed  by  chinese  characters,  whether  arising  from  mentality,  from 
the  necessity  for  periphrastic  rendering,  from  lack  of  acute  perceptive 
faculties  or  from  deficiency  of  analytical  capacity. 

Still  another  obvious  difficulty  lies  in  the  records  themselves.  Some 
of  these  chinese  histories  upon  which  we  rely  were  WTitten  hundreds 
of  years  ago  and  they  in  turn  were  based  upon  records  and  official 
documents,  many  of  them  dating  back  several  centuries  before  the 
day  of  the  historians.  Now,  it  would  be  unreasonable  to  expect 
to  find  among  these  officials  and  historians,  experts  so  trained  in  the 
analysis  of  events  as  to  seize  in  their  narrative,  upon  the  exact  points 


One  hundred  kwan  note.  Sung  Dynasty.  Emperor,  Hiao  Tsung; 
Period,  K'ien  Tao;  A.D.  116,5-1174. 

Reproduced  from  the  original,  which  is  darker  than  this  half-tone. 

The  paper  measures  9^4  by  6^  inches;  the  impression,  9  by  6  inches. 

The  traces  of  two  vermilion  seals  distinctly  visible  on  the  face  of  the 
note. 

From  the  collection  of  Andrew  McFarland  Davis. 


DAVIS. —  CERTAIN  OLD  CHINESE  NOTES.  275 

which  are  of  value  to  the  economist  to-day,  and  to  express  themselves 
so  as  to  satisfy  fully  the  demands  of  the  modern  investigator.  We  are 
compelled  to  take  the  records  as  we  find  them,  and  interpret  them,  as 
best  we  may,  through  the  test  of  subsequent  historical  experiences. 
We  may  feel  reasonably  sure  that  the  translators  have  given  us  a  fairly 
accurate  version  of  the  Chinese  text,  especially  when  we  find  a  con- 
sensus of  meaning  in  the  papers  of  different  translators.  If  we  reflect 
that  the  records  with  which  we  are  dealing  at  the  beginning  of  the 
Chinese  paper  money  experience  cover  dates  six  and  a  half  centuries 
and  perhaps  more  before  Columbus  made  his  first  voyage  across  the 
Atlantic,  we  shall  not  be  disposed  to  demand  too  much  of  thesechinese 
historians  and  officials  in  the  way  of  exact  statements. 

The  several  writers  who  have  undertaken  to  furnish  us  with  knowl- 
edge of  these  Chinese  records  unite  with  a  single  exception,  in  saying 
that  the  first  experience  of  the  Chinese  government  in  the  emission  of 
paper  money  occurred  about  806  A.D.  That  exception  throws  the 
date  of  the  inception  of  the  experience  back  about  one  hundred  and 
fifty  years.  The  question  whether  the  true  date  is  650  A.D.  or  806 
A.D.  is  of  slight  consequence  to  us.  There  is  nothing  improbable  in 
the  statement  that  the  earlier  is  the  true  date,  but  the  later  has  proved 
to  be  the  one  usually  accepted  as  authentic,  for  although  very  little 
is  known  of  the  notes  then  emitted,  the  causes  which  led  to  the  emis- 
sion have  been  fully  portrayed.  Interior  troubles,  continuous  wars, 
a  reduction  in  the  output  of  the  mines,  and  the  amount  of  copper  used 
by  the  Buddhists  in  casting  statues,  led  to  the  total  disparition  of  the 
metal  itself  and  of  the  copper  coins.  Edicts  were  issued  against  the 
use  of  copper  in  the  manufacture  of  domestic  utensils.  Merchants 
were  ordered  to  bring  their  metallic  currency  to  the  treasury,  in 
exchange  for  which  so-called  bonds  or  letters  of  exchange  payable  at 
short  terms  in  the  principal  districts  of  the  empire  were  given  them. 

These  obligations  were  called  "light  money"  or  as  Klaproth  more 
picturesquely  translates  it  "flying  money."  They  apparently  had 
but  a  brief  life  at  the  capital,  but  in  the  provinces  continued  to  circu- 
late for  some  time.  Other  emissions  followed  under  the  different 
emperors,  some  of  which  were  for  the  nominal  purpose  of  saving  to 
merchants  the  transportation  from  place  to  place,  in  settlement  of 
debts,  of  the  copper  currency  on  which  the  country  depended  as  a 
measure  of  value.  Most,  if  not  all,  of  these  emissions  had  names. 
In  one  case  we  have  seen  that  the  appropriate  designation  of  "  flying 
money"  was  given  them.  In  another  they  were  called  "convenient 
money."     The  fitness  of  this  title  will  be  appreciated  when  it  is  stated 


276  PROCEEDINGS   OF  THE   AMERICAN   ACADEMY. 

that  at  times  and  especially  in  the  outlying  provinces,  where  there 
was  a  scarcity  of  copper  money,  iron  money  was  also  made  use  of  as 
a  circulating  medium. 

It  is  evident  that  at  first  there  was  no  conception  that  the  govern- 
ment could  maintain  a  purely  credit  currency.  There  was  appar- 
ently no  thought  of  gain  in  the  transaction.  The  alleged  purpose  was 
to  save  merchants  the  expense  of  transporting  the  cumbrous  copper  or 
iron  money,  which  lay  at  the  base  of  the  currency.  Nor  had  they 
conceived  of  a  demand  note.  The  first  notes  were  said  to  be  for 
"short  terms."  Another  emission  at  a  latter  date  was  said  to  be  for 
twenty-two  three-year  terms  redeemable  at  the  end  of  65  years. 
Apparently,  at  the  end  of  each  three  years,  the  notes  could  be  presented 
for  redemption.  It  is  said  that  this  system  was  originally  inaugurated 
by  merchants,  who  furnished  a  private  currency  of  their  own,  on  these 
terms,  and  it  is  stated  that  after  a  few  years  the  accumulation  of 
outstanding  notes  which  had  not  been  presented  for  redemption,  for 
the  protection  of  which  they  had  not  maintained  an  adequate  reserve, 
proved  too  much  for  the  merchants,  and  being  unable  to  protect  the 
notes,  they  became  bankrupt.  Thereupon  the  government  stepped 
in,  forbade  the  emission  of  notes  by  private  citizens,  itself  emitted 
notes  on  the  same  basis  as  that  devised  by  the  merchants  and  it  is 
asserted  with  the  same  result.  It  would  seem  as  though  the  failure  to 
provide  the  funds  for  the  redemption  of  these  notes  might  better  be  at- 
tributed to  lack  of  business  foresight  than  to  inflation.  The  notes  were 
a  convenience  and  so  long  as  the  people  had  confidence  in  them  they 
were  not  presented  for  redemption  at  the  end  of  the  terms.  Statistics 
are  furnished  from  time  to  time  wliich  serve  to  show  that  this  was  the 
case.  There  were  for  instance  afloat  in  1032  more  than  1 .256.340  kwan 
of  these  65  year  notes.  In  1072,  Chaudoir  says  the  17th  term  of  pay- 
ment had  arrived  and  only  notes  to  the  extent  of  6540  kwan  had  been 
redeemed.  The  final  redemption  was  not  far  away.  The  government 
was  absolutely  unable  to  procure  enough  metallic  money  to  effect 
this  redemption.  New  notes  were  therefore  prepared,  running  for 
twenty-five  terms  of  three  years  each,  and  holders  of  the  old  were 
ordered  to  exchange  them  for  the  new,  the  option  of  a  redemption 
being,  nominally  at  least,  offered  them. 

These  three-year  notes  running  from  twenty-tw'O  to  twenty-six 
terms  held  the  field  for  some  time,  but  in  the  course  of  events  experi- 
ments were  made  with  notes  having  other  terms.  We  hear  of  one 
year  notes,  of  those  having  seven-year  terms,  of  ten-year  terms,  and 
of  notes  of  forty-three  one-year  terms  whose  value  was  expressed  in 


DAVIS. —  CERTAIN  OLD  CHINESE  NOTES.  277 

silver.  To  further  the  circulation  of  these  latter  notes,  which  were  of 
large  denominations,  it  was  ordained  that  in  all  payments  exceeding 
ten  kwans,  use  should  be  made  of  notes  to  the  extent  of  at  least  one 
half.  The  career  of  these  silver  notes  was  short,  the  depreciation 
rapid,  and  the  total  disappearance  from  circulation  a  matter  of  but 
a  few  years.  Failure  of  the  government  to  provide  for  their  redemp- 
tion is  the  alleged  cause,  but  the  rapidity  of  the  decline  suggests 
inflation. 

So  far  as  it  might  be  revealed  by  an  examination  of  the  phraseology 
of  the  inscriptions  upon  certain  actual  notes,  and  also  upon  a  few  of 
the  representations  of  notes  in  the  Chinese  numismatical  work  which 
has  been  referred  to,  there  was  no  effort  made  to  inform  the  holder 
of  the  note,  whether  it  was  a  seven-year,  a  three-year,  or  a  one-year 
note,  or  indeed  whether  it  was  redeemable  at  any  time  or  at  any  place. 
It  is  difficult  to  conceive,  how  the  currency  of  notes  could  have  been 
affected  by  failure  on  the  part  of  the  government  to  provide  redemp- 
tions if  no  such  agreement  was  to  be  found  on  the  face  of  the  note. 
The  specimens  and  the  pictorial  representations,  with  their  inscrip- 
tions to  the  effect  that  they  were  to  be  received  as  so  much  copper  or 
so  much  silver,  closely  resemble  in  substance,  though  not  of  coiu'se 
in  appearance,  the  fiat-money  made  use  of  in  Massachusetts  during 
the  first  half  of  the  eighteenth  century. 

The  temptation  is  strong  to  assert  on  the  strength  of  this  examina- 
tion that  there  were  no  notes  containing  a  redemption  clause.  Bushell, 
however,  translates  an  inscription  on  a  Kin  note  of  1214,  to  the  eflFect 
that  it  was  redeemable  at  certain  offices,  and  Saburo  quoting  from  a 
Chinese  historian  also  asserts  that  certain  of  the  Kin  notes  were 
redeemable  on  demand.  These  notes  were  emitted  by  the  Tartars 
during  their  participation  in  the  contest  with  the  Southern  Sung 
dynasty. 

It  is  not  of  importance  to  follow  the  meagre  details  of  the  various 
emissions  placed  at  our  command  by  Chinese  historians.  It  is  not 
possible  to  fix  the  time  when  the  government  awoke  to  the  fact  that 
they  could  in  an  emergency  emit  an  unsecured  and  unprotected  paper 
currency  at  will.  A  versatile  nation  would  have  made  the  experiment 
long  before  the  Chinese  did,  but  this  people  were  fixed  in  their  habits 
and  followed  year  after  year  and  century  after  century  the  customs 
of  their  ancestors.  It  is  evident,  however,  that  under  pressure  of  wars 
and  the  need  of  money  to  purchase  supplies  and  to  pay  the  soldiers, 
fiat-money  was  finally  issued,  only  to  be  followed  by  depreciation  and 
monetary  troubles.     Morse  says,  "  For  the  twelfth  and  the  first  half  of 


278  PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ACADEMY. 

the  thirteenth  centuries  the  country  was  divided  between  the  Southern 
Sung  and  the  Golden  Dynasty  of  Niichen  Tartars,  and  both  ran  a  mad 
race  in  the  issue  of  assignats."  He  then  quotes  from  Klaproth  certain 
details  concerning  an  emission  in  1131  A.D.  for  the  purpose  of  furnish- 
ing money  to  the  soldiers,  which  was  evidently  a  fiat-currency.  Con- 
cerning the  details  of  these  emissions  and  the  description  of  the  notes 
emitted  there  is  some  fragmentary  information,  but  not  enough  for  a 
continuous,  intelligent  narrative. 

From  1260  to  1329,  inclusive,  Chaudoir  gives  a  table  of  the  emis- 
sions. The  table,  however,  does  not  furnish  details  as  to  the  reduction 
in  the  amount  in  circulation  during  the  same  period  through  redemp- 
tion. The  statement  is  made  that  the  last  emission  of  notes  during 
this  long  protracted  period  of  the  use  of  paper  money  was  made  in 
1455,  but  if  so  the  notes  then  emitted  must  have  remained  in  circu- 
lation for  years  after  this  date,  as  we  find  provision  made  for  their 
reception  in  payments  to  the  government  as  late  as  1489. 

Saburo  gives  some  details  concerning  an  experiment  made  by  the 
Manchus  in  1651  in  the  way  of  emitting  notes,  which  was  continued 
for  ten  years  and  then  abandoned.  So  far  as  it  goes  this  seems  to 
corroborate  the  idea  that  by  that  time  paper  money  had  actually 
become  forgotten  so  that  the  attempt  at  its  revival  by  the  invaders 
proved  to  be  ineffectual. 

Following  the  slender  narrative  of  events  during  these  centuries  it  is 
clear  that  from  time  to  time  reckless  rulers  acting  under  bad  advice 
sought  to  provide  for  temporary  financial  emergencies  by  such  over- 
whelming emissions  of  government  notes  that  they  were  brought  into 
disrepute  and  in  some  instances  were  depreciated  to  such  an  extent 
as  to  become  almost  valueless.  From  these  pitfalls  the  government 
was  occasionally  released  by  the  conservatism  of  some  intelligent 
emperor  who  listened  to  those  advisers  who  insisted  that  the  trouble 
lay  with  the  government  and  not  with  the  people  and  that  a  reduction 
of  the  amount  of  notes  in  circulation  would  relieve  the  situation.  Ma- 
twan-lin,  the  old  Chinese  author  already  referred  to,  occasionally  in- 
dulged in  moralizing  upon  the  situation.  Vissering  was  struck  with 
the  value  of  his  observations  and  what  Benadakis  said  of  him:  "He 
knows  the  true  theory  of  money  and  of  paper  and  what  he  has  WTitten 
on  the  subject  is  striking  in  its  precision  and  good  sense,"  has  already 
been  quoted,  but  is  worthy  of  repetition. 

Chinese  historians  apparently  relied  for  their  facts  upon  documents 
filed  in  the  archives,  and  these  records  were  made  up  very  largely 
of  discussions  carried  on  by  the  advisers  of  the  throne  —  cabinet 


-r  :^'{^ 


m 


■'^itSK^ftaasnamf^vrt;^. 


Ten  wen  note,  Ming  Dynasty.  Emperor, 
J6n  Tsung;  Period,  Hung  Hi;  A.D.  1425, 
1426.  Reproduced  from  the  original,  which 
is  darker  than  this  half-tone. 

The  paper  measures  lOJ^  by  4  inches; 
the  impression,  8J^  by  S%  inches. 

The  marks  of  two  vermilion  seals  faintly 
to  be  seen  on  face  of  note. 

From  the  collection  of  Andrew  McFarland  Davis. 


DAVIS. —  CERTAIN  OLD  CHINESE  NOTES.  279 

meetings  we  should  call  them.  A  petition  is  presented,  let  us  say  for 
the  emission  of  more  notes  or  perhaps  for  the  extension  of  the  area 
within  which  certain  of  the  notes  were  allowed  to  circulate;  or,  again, 
perhaps  the  emperor  may  call  attention  to  the  evil  condition  of  the 
currency.  After  this  there  follows  a  discussion  of  the  subject  thus 
raised.  The  opinion  of  each  of  the  advisers  present  and  speaking  is 
preserved  in  the  archives  and  if  the  historian  thinks  it  worth  while 
is  handed  down  to  posterity  in  his  book. 

Saburo  quotes  from  a  petition  in  the  twelfth  century,  in  which  the 
petitioner  sets  forth  his  opinions  as  to  the  causes  of  the  depreciation 
of  the  notes  and  points  out  the  fact  that  the  notes  being  easily  torn  and 
defaced,  the  people  prefer  to  keep  in  their  possession  the  copper  cash, 
and  consequently  get  rid  of  the  paper  money  and  hoard  the  metallic 
coins.  He  then  adds :  "  Now  that  the  government  has  known  only  the 
necessity  to  issue  the  note  and  has  not  known  the  advisability  of  redeem- 
ing them,  is  the  reason  why  the  value  of  cash  is  daily  enhanced  and  the 
note  is  depreciated  proportionally.  Hence  it  is  clear  that  the  depreci- 
ation of  the  notes  is  not  created  by  the  people,  but  it  is  the  govern- 
ment themselves  who  have  created  it,  and  nothing  is  more  consis- 
tent, in  the  opinion  of  this  petitioner,  than  to  withdraw  part  of  the 
notes  from  circulation,  the  amoimt  of  notes  corresponding  to  the 
excess  in  issue,  so  that  in  the  alternate  process  of  issue  and  withdrawal, 
the  people  may  become  trained  to  perceive  the  necessity  of  the  use 
of  paper  and  attach  value  to  it,  but  if  it  be  attempted  to  check  the 
depreciation  of  the  notes  by  ilieans  of  a  new  issue,  not  only  will  it 
never  accomplish  the  object  but  it  is  much  to  be  feared  that  the  notes 
newly  issued  will  soon  share  in  the  same  lot  as  the  old  ones."  Whether 
the  confusion  of  thought  and  expression  in  the  foregoing  is  to  be 
attributed  to  Saburo  or  to  the  petitioner,  it  is  at  any  rate  evident 
that  the  underlying  opinion  of  the  latter  was  that  inflation  was  the 
cause  of  the  depreciation,  and  that  the  remedy  was  a  reduction  of  the 
amount  in  circulation,  and  a  restoration  of  confidence  by  redemption. 

Another  writer  quoted  by  Saburo  says  that  "the  greatest  evil  of 
the  administration  of  the  paper  currency  consists  in  too  much  inflation 
and  the  absence  of  contraction.  This  is  so  much  the  case  that  un- 
limited issue  coupled  with  no  withdrawal  is  often  the  result.  It  is 
too  late  to  discuss  the  renewing  of  the  issue  when  the  paper  is  already 
beginning  to  fall.  The  people  are  choked  with  it  and  the  paper  is 
speedily  depreciated." 

There  are  numerous  recorded  opinions  indicating  that  there  were 
from  time  to  time  Chinese  statesmen  of  the  class  of  those  just  quoted, 


280         PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ACADEMY. 

who  appreciated  the  dangers  incident  to  the  emission  of  fiat  money 
by  the  government,  and  who  announced  the  opinion  not  only  that  the 
amount  must  be  proportioned  to  the  needs  of  the  people  but  that 
provision  must  be  made  for  redemptions  at  promised  periods  and 
places. 

Arbitrary  methods  were  resorted  to  in  order  to  maintain  the 
ciuTency  in  circulation.  Edicts  were  issued  making  it  compulsory  to 
receive  paper  currency  in  payment  of  debts,  and  forbidding  the 
hoarding  of  the  metallic  cvurency.  At  other  times  it  was  provided 
that  in  making  payments  a  certain  proportion  should  be  paid  in  paper 
money.  An  avenue  for  the  use  of  the  paper  currency  was  at  times 
afforded  through  their  reception  by  the  government  for  taxes,  but  the 
policy  in  this  regard  was  not  uniform.  They  were  sometimes  received 
in  full  payment,  sometimes  in  part  payment  and  sometimes  not  at  all. 

As  far  back  as  the  first  note  of  which  we  have  any  representation, 
there  was  on  the  face  of  the  note  an  announcement  that  he  who 
counterfeited  the  note  would  be  subject  to  the  penalty  of  decapitation. 
There  was  also  a  statement  that  a  reward  would  be  given  for  the  arrest 
of  the  counterfeiter.  The  penalty  of  decapitation  for  the  counter- 
feiter seems  to  have  been  constant,  but  the  reward  for  the  informer 
varied  with  the  size  of  the  note,  and  was  doubtless  influenced  by  the 
temper  of  the  ruler,  as  well  as  by  the  activity  of  the  counterfeiters. 
On  some  of  the  notes  threats  are  hurled  against  officials  who  conceal 
or  condone  such  offenders.  At  other  times,  the  efforts  seemed  to  be 
directed  towards  finding  out  the  real  offenders  rather  than  punishing 
accessories  and  it  was  announced  in  connection  with  one  emission  that 
"  accomplices  as  well  as  those  who  attempt  to  conceal  the  act  will  on 
confessing  the  fact  be  pardoned  and  be  allowed  to  hold  official  employ- 
ment." 

Perhaps  the  most  original  suggestion  in  connection  with  the  various 
discussions  concerning  counterfeits,  occurred  during  the  Sung  dynasty 
after  a  large  seizure  of  counterfeit  money  had  been  made,  dinging  the 
discussion  as  to  what  should  be  done  with  the  counterfeiters.  One 
adviser  said  that  the  customary  policy  of  beheading  the  criminal  and 
destroying  the  counterfeits  was  a  mistake.  "  If,"  said  he,  "  you  put 
the  official  stamp  on  that  counterfeited  paper,  it  will  be  just  as  good 
as  genuine  paper,  and  if  you  punish  these  men  only  -v^ath  tattooing, 
and  circulate  these  notes,  it  is  exactly  as  if  you  saved  each  day  300000 
copper  cash  together  with  fifty  lives."  The  writer  says  the  suggestion 
was  adopted. 

The  change  from  wood-cut  to  stereotype  plate  could  never  have 


DAVIS. —  CERTAIN  OLD  CHINESE  NOTES.  281 

meant  much.  The  one  kwan  Ming  notes  of  the  period  1368-1398 
are  the  only  notes  which  permit  of  comparison,  one  with  another,  and 
hence  furnish  foundation  for  an  opinion  as  to  their  thorough  uni- 
formity. There  are  enough  of  these,  however,  accessible  for  such  a 
purpose,  both  by  actual  comparison  of  the  notes  themselves  with  each 
other,  and  also  with  the  photographic  process  pictures  made  use  of  in 
illustration  of  books,  to  permit  the  expression  of  an  opinion  that  there 
are  well  established  variations  in  the  different  specimens. 

We  have  already  seen  what  books  contain  pictorial  representations 
of  these  one  kwan  Ming  notes  of  the  Hung  Wu  period.  Further  we 
have  seen  that  in  1842  there  were  three  of  these  notes  at  St.  Peters- 
burg and  that  the  British  Museum  has  two,  one  acquired  in  1890, 
the  other  in  1902.  Besides  these  the  note  that  furnished  Morse  his 
lithograph  is  in  the  Museum  of  St.  John's  University,  Shanghai. 
There  is  one  at  the  Essex  Institute,  Salem,  Massachusetts.  There 
is,  or  was,  one  in  the  Knickerbocker  Trust  Co.,  New  York,  and  there  is 
one  in  the  possession  of  the  American  Bank  Note  Co.  Besides  these 
there  are  at  least  the  same  number  of  private  individuals  known  to 
have  specimens  of  this  particular  note,  and  some  of  them  have  more 
than  one  specimen.  It  may  reasonably  be  inferred  that  this  scattered 
ownership  would  be  found  to  be  much  larger  if  persistent  attempts 
were  made  to  run  down  the  location  of  these  notes. 

The  appearance  of  the  notes  justifies  the  belief  that  they  were 
printed  from  wood  cuts  and  the  differences  which  can  be  estabUshed 
between  them  lead  to  the  conclusion  that  there  must  have  been 
numerous  places  of  issue  at  which  the  blocks  were  cut  for  that  purpose. 
The  first  place  on  the  face  of  the  notes  which  one  would  naturally 
select  for  purposes  of  comparison  would  probably  be  the  ornamenta- 
tion of  the  border.  Ramsden,  quoting,  it  may  be  inferred,  from  the 
Chinese  numismatical  work,  upon  which  he  relied  for  information  as 
to  these  old  notes,  gives  their  prescribed  color  as  blue*  black  and 
describes  the  ornamentation  of  the  border,  thus:  "design:  dragons 
on  border."  Even  though  the  worn  condition  of  the  specimens  inter- 
feres with  the  mechanical  comparison  of  the  several  notes,  yet  it  does 
not  absolutely  prevent  it.  On  some  of  the  notes  this  dragon  pattern 
is  obvious,  on  others  it  is  hard  to  find.  The  statement  may  be  made, 
not  only  that  the  notes  are  not  absolutely  uniform,  but  that  they  must 
have  come  from  several  independent  sources.  It  may  indeed  be  as- 
serted that  the  Chinese  characters  on  the  face  of  the  notes  are  not 
themselves  uniform.  My  attention  was  called  to  this  point  while 
examining  the  question  of  penalties  for  counterfeiting  and  rewards 


282  PROCEEDINGS   OF  THE  AMERICAN  ACADEMY. 

for  informing.  I  noticed  that  the  translation  of  the  inscriptions  on 
the  note,  furnished  by  Du  Halde  gave  the  reward  to  the  person  who 
should  inform  and  bring  in  or  produce  the  culprit,  while  Morse  in  his 
translation  gave  it  to  the  informer,  saying  nothing  about  the  arrest. 
At  my  request  Mr.  Drew  kindly  examined  the  chinese  characters  in 
the  representations  of  notes  furnished  by  Du  Halde  and  by  Morse, 
and  assured  me  that  Du  Halde's  translation  was  undoubtedly  correct, 
that  the  informer  had  to  bring  in  his  prisoner  to  secure  the  reward, 
and  further  that  on  the  Morse  note,  while  there  was  required  of  the 
informer  in  order  that  he  should  reap  his  reward,  the  performance  of 
a  similar  service,  the  character  used  to  express  this  service  was  differ- 
ent from  the  one  used  on  the  Du  Halde  note  and  involved  the  idea 
of  sending  the  prisoner  in  rather  than  of  bringing  him  in. 

Edkins  says  of  the  Mongol  notes,  that  each  province  had  a  bank  for 
their  manufacture.  It  probably  was  true  of  the  Ming  notes,  that  they 
were  emitted  from  various  provincial  sources. 

The  quality  of  the  paper  on  which  the  notes  were  printed  had  to  do 
with  the  facility  with  which  they  could  be  counterfeited.  There  were 
times  when  the  government  left  the  manufacture  of  the  paper  in  the 
hands  of  private  individuals,  apparently  without  supervision,  with  the 
natiu'al  consequences  of  a  degradation  of  quality  which  finally  com- 
pelled intervention.  Marco  Polo  tells  us  that  the  Mongol  notes  were 
made  from  the  inner  bark  of  the  mulberry  tree.  There  has  been  some 
discussion  as  to  the  probability  of  this  being  true,  since  mulberry  trees 
were  of  so  much  value  to  those  who  cared  for  the  silk  worms,  and  the 
conclusion  generally  reached  was  that  the  tree  must  have  been  some 
other  species  of  mulberry  than  the  one  which  furnished  food  for  the 
silk  worm.  In  1217,  Edkins  says  there  was  a  discussion  as  to  the 
emission  of  notes.  It  was  stated  that  there  was  a  scarcity  of  mulberry 
tree  bark  and  the  question  was  asked,  "  How  could  the  notes  be  made 
without  it?  "  Certain  notes  then  in  circulation  were  known  as  "  the 
mulberry  bark  old  paper  money."  The  testimony  as  to  the  use  of  the 
bark  of  some  mulberry  tree  for  the  manufacture  of  the  notes  seems 
conclusive  of  that  fact,  but  whether  or  not,  some  other  bark  may  after- 
ward have  been  availed  of  does  not  appear.  It  seems,  however,  quite 
clear  that  the  paper  of  the  notes  was  made  from  some  vegetable  fibre 
pulp.  In  addition  to  this  there  are  records  of  attempts  to  circulate 
notes  printed  on  silk.     They  do  not  appear  to  have  been  successful. 

The  value  of  the  notes  was  as  a  rule  stated  to  be  in  copper  although 
there  were  some  that  were  based  on  silver.  The  dynasty  is  conspicu- 
ously set  forth  on  the  face  of  the  note,  oftentimes  more  than  once. 


DAVIS. —  CERTAIN  OLD  CmNESE  NOTES.  283 

and  the  characters  designating  the  emperor  or  the  period,  enable  us 
to  determine  within  a  few  years  the  date  of  the  emission.  There  is  a 
year  character,  a  month  character  and  a  day  character  on  each  note, 
and  when  the  note  was  issued  the  blanks  connected  with  these  char- 
acters were  filled  in  with  a  brush,  so  that  until  the  brush  marks 
wore  off  in  use,  the  actual  day  of  the  emission  of  the  note  could  be 
ascertained. 

The  circulation  of  the  notes  was  primarily  determined  by  the  area 
under  control  of  the  dynasty  at  the  time  of  the  emission.  There  were, 
however,  other  factors  than  the  limits  of  the  power  of  the  dynasty, 
which  operated  to  restrict  the  circulation  of  some  of  the  emissions. 
They  were  sometimes  emitted  for  a  particular  purpose  and  for  use 
only  within  a  restricted  area.  Such  restrictions  were  found  embar- 
rassing and  naturally  gave  rise  to  complaints. 

There  were  times  dm-ing  the  depreciation  of  the  notes  when  efforts 
were  made  to  redeem  the  outstanding  notes  with  new  notes,  the  latter 
being  emitted  perhaps  on  a  par  with  metallic  currency,  thus  tempo- 
rarily furnishing  two  concurrent  paper  currencies,  the  one  of  which 
was  worth  three,  four,  five,  or  whatever  the  proportionate  value  might 
be,  times  the  other.  To  a  certain  extent,  such  discrepant  values 
could  be  maintained  through  provision  for  the  reception  of  the  notes 
by  government  officials  on  this  basis.  As  a  rule,  however,  experiments 
of  this  sort  did  not  relieve  the  situation. 

Two  things  have  operated  to  reduce  the  value  of  this  Chinese 
experience  as  a  lesson  to  other  peoples.  One  is  the  sluggishness  of 
the  Chinese  temperament,  its  inflexibility  under  ordinary  pressure, 
its  resistance  through  inertia  to  change  of  any  sort.  The  other  is  the 
subordination  of  the  people  to  authority,  their  readiness  to  accept  and 
obey  the  orders  of  their  constituted  government,  and  the  difficulty 
of  organizing  opposition  except  on  the  basis  of  war.  Yet  in  spite  of 
the  passive  endurance  of  the  people  and  notwithstanding  the  arbitrary 
efforts  of  the  government  to  check  depreciation,  the  law  of  supply  and 
demand  overrode  edicts  and  orders  and  when  inflation  prevailed  prices 
went  up.  The  total  abandonment  of  paper  money,  at  the  end  of  this 
protracted  experience  was  thoroughly  unscientific,  but  in  this  case 
quite  natural.  China  had  no  contact  with  the  outer  world  and  but 
few  industries  other  than  agriculture.  There  being  no  field  for  the 
development  of  industrial  enterprise  there  was  no  special  occasion  to 
make  use  of  the  agency  of  credit  to  multiply  the  resources  of  the  empire. 
Had  the  conditions  been  different,  had  there  been  commercial  and 
industrial  activity,  Chinese  intellect  would  probably  have  found  some 


284  PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN   ACADEMY, 

other  way  of  curing  the  abuse  than  that  of  aboHshing  the  use,  and  we 
should  not  have  been  reminded  by  this  throwing  away  of  the  enormous 
advantages  possibly  to  be  derived  from  a  well  handled  government 
credit,  of  the  wasteful  process  described  by  Charies  Lamb,  through 
which  the  deUcacy  of  roast  pig  was  provided  in  China. 


Paper  Money  in  Europe  and  America 

A  word  ought  perhaps  to  be  said,  in  closing,  concerning  the  experi- 
ence in  the  use  of  paper  money  in  Christendom  which  most  closely 
parallels  that  of  the  Chinese.  It  will  help  us  to  appreciate  the  indefi- 
nite past  with  which  we  have  been  dealing  in  China,  if  we  recall  the 
fact  that  the  Bank  of  England  was  not  chartered  until  1694,  A.D.,  and 
while  claims  are  made  that  continental  banks  had  anticipated  that 
date  in  furnishing  a  paper  currency  to  the  people,  these  claims  if 
proved  would  not  carry  back  the  birth  of  paper  money  in  Europe 
by  many  years.  Two  hundred  and  forty  years  had  intervened  between 
the  time  set  by  Klaproth  for  the  Chinese  abandonment  of  paper  money 
and  the  attempt  in  Europe  to  inaugurate  the  use  of  a  representative* 
denominational  paper  currency.  It  was  not,  therefore,  until  about  a 
thousand  years  after  emission  of  the  oldest  note  of  which  we  have 
heard  in  China,  that  the  conditions  of  life  in  Europe  led  to  the  develop- 
ment of  a  system  of  paper  money.  Experiences  in  the  imprudent 
use  of  the  power  to  furnish  a  circulating  medium  through  the  means  of 
the  printing  press,  led  to  catastrophes  like  Law's  Mississippi  bubble 
and  later  to  the  depreciation  of  the  government  paper  of  some  of  the 
continental  powers,  but  the  one  experience  which  most  closely  re- 
sembles that  of  the  Chinese  was  that  of  the  Province  of  Massachusetts 
Bay  in  the  first  half  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Our  ancestors  com- 
pressed within  the  brief  space  of  about  fifty  years,  practically  coinci- 
dent with  the  first  half  of  the  eighteenth  century,  an  experience  in 
the  use  of  fiat  money,  which  rivals  the  Chinese  experiment  in  the 
variety  of  the  lessons  which  it  can  teach,  and  is  in  reality  far  more 
instructive  than  its  prototype,  since  we  have  complete  records  of  the 
details  of  action,  the  methods  of  emission  and  the  surrounding  condi- 
tions of  life.  We  can  see  here,  the  timid  efforts  of  a  government, 
having  no  borrowing  power,  to  meet  a  debt,  relatively  very  large  and 
utterly  unexpected,  by  the  emission  of  certificates  of  indebtedness,^ 
in  the  form  of  a  denominational  currency,  capable  of  being  made  use 


DAVIS. —  CERTAIN  OLD  CHINESE  NOTES.  285 

of  as  a  circulating  medium.  We  can  see  that  through  the  prompt 
retirement  of  the  earUer  emissions  by  means  of  taxation,  confidence 
in  the  bills  of  pubUc  credit  was  created,  and  thus  the  government  was 
enabled  to  float  enough  of  them,  to  cover  the  expenses  of  administra- 
tion at  first  for  a  single  year  and  ultimately  for  several  years.  We 
can  watch  the  gradual  disappearance  of  the  metallic  currency,  concur- 
rent with  the  increase  of  the  quantity  of  the  bills  in  circulation,  and 
after  silver  had  been  entirely  withdrawn  from  general  circulation 
the  continuous  rise  in  prices  which  paralleled  the  steadily  increasing 
amount  of  bills  emitted  by  the  province.  We  can  see  two  sorts  of 
bills  circulating  side  by  side,  both  emitted  by  the  same  government 
and  both  dependent  for  the  value  at  which  they  would  circulate  upon 
the  language  used  in  the  statement  of  value  printed  on  the  face  of  the 
note,  one  of  which  was  worth  three  times  as  much  as  the  other,  and 
•we  can  see  that  this  circulation  of  notes  bearing  the  same  denomina- 
tional values,  of  which  three  of  the  one  were  required  to  perform  the 
functions  of  one  of  the  other,  was  made  possible  by  the  terms  on  which 
the  government  would  receive  the  notes.  We  can  see  that  while  the 
government  could  force  this  unnatural  circulation  of  the  two  kinds 
of  notes,  it  did  not  have  the  power  to  retain  them  or  any  of  them  on  a 
par  with  specie,  but  that  they  declined  in  proportion  as  the  needs  of 
the  people  for  trade  were  exceeded  in  the  supply  furnished  for  circu- 
lation. 

The  closure  of  this  paper  money  experience  in  Massachusetts  was 
like  that  in  China  effected  by  the  total  abandonment  of  paper  money 
and  the  return  to  an  absolute  specie  basis.  There  were,  however, 
many  reasons  which  operated  to  prevent  the  colonists  of  Massachu- 
setts from  drawing  correct  inferences  as  to  the  economic  laws  which 
governed  the  circulating  medium.  They  had  seen  prices  go  up  while 
the  amount  of  notes  emitted  by  the  province  was  being  steadily 
reduced.  The  reason  for  this  apparent  violation  of  an  economic  law 
is  easy  to  find,  the  notes  of  adjacent  colonies  more  than  filled  the  gap 
in  the  circulating  medium.  To  a  certain  extent  this  was  understood 
but  the  rebuff  that  the  province  had  met  with  in  attempting  to  reduce 
the  amount  of  the  circulating  medium,  will  explain  why  they  felt  that 
the  only  relief  was  not  alone  to  abandon  the  use  of  their  own  paper 
money  but  also  to  do  it  in  such  a  way  as  would  cut  off  the  circulation 
of  emissions  by  neighboring  governments. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  lessons  to  be  learned  from  this  fifty 
year  experience  closely  resembled  on  the  whole  that  which  was  to  be 
derived  from  the  incomplete  accounts  of  what  took  place  in  the  same 


286  PROCEEDINGS  OP  THE  AMERICAN  ACADEMY. 

line  in  China  during  centuries  of  experience.  Neither  of  these  ex- 
periments has  affected  economic  thought  to  any  measurable  extent. 
One  of  them  has  been  practically  unknown  imtil  very  recently.  The 
other  has  been  buried  in  the  oblivion  of  provincial  archives. 


INDEX 


INDEX 


Abandonment  of  Paper  Money, 

What  Du  Halde  says,  253,  262; 

what  Morse  says,  272;    Chau- 

doir  says,  1455  a.d.,  278;  total 

abandonment  unscientific,  283. 

Alfred  the  Great, 

A    contemporary    of    the    Tang 
notes,  841-847  a.d.,  271. 
American  Academy  of  Arts  and 
Sciences, 
John  Pickering  was  at  one  time 
president,  254. 
American  Bank  Note  Co., 

Prints  picture  of  one  kwan  Ming 
note,   265;    note    depicted    in 
"New  York  Sun"  came  from, 
267;  referred  to,  281. 
American  Oriental  Society, 

Journal  of.   Contained  translation 
of    Klaproth's    article    in    the 
"Journal  Asiatique,"  254. 
Antiquarian  Researches, 

Transition   of   title  to   Chinese 
book,  255,  274. 
Atlantic  Monthly, 

Prints  translations  of  a  title  to  a 
Chinese  book,  274. 
Atlantic  Ocean, 
275. 

Backhouse,  Edward, 

A  well-known  sinologue,  274. 

Bahr,  a.  W., 

Has  a  number  of  old  Chinese 
notes,  267;  Hon.  Secretary, 
North  China  Branch  Royal 
Asiatic  Society,  268;  published 
"Old  Chinese  Porcelain  and 
Works  of  Art  in  China,"  268; 
knows  of  no  other  notes  in 
existence,  268;  Tang,  Sung  and 
Liao  notes  procured  in  Shang- 
hai, 269;  suggests  color  of 
Liao  notes  changed,  268,  271. 

Ball,  T.  Dyer, 

Member  of  civil  service,  Hong 
Kong;  pubhshes  "Things 
Chinese,"  264. 


Bank  op  England, 

284. 
Banking  and  Prices  in  China, 
A    work  containing  information 
concerning       Chmese       paper 
money,    258;    characterization 
of  the  book,  259. 
Banks  and  Bank  Notes, 

Title  in  T.  Dyer  Ball's  book  under 
which  he  classes  Chinese  notes, 
264. 
Benadakis,  a.  M., 

Communicates  a  paper  on  Chinese 
paper  money  in  the  "Journal 
des    Economistes,"    257;    ap- 
proves Ma-twan-lin,  257,  278. 
Bergeron,  P., 

His  "Recueil  de  Divers  Voyages 
Curieux"  cited,  248,  note. 
BiOT,  Edouard, 

Published   a  "paper   on   Chinese 
paper  money  in  "Journal  Asia- 
tique," 256. 
Bland,  John  Otway  Percy, 

A  well-known  English  sinologue, 
274. 
Bonds  or  Letters  of  Exchange, 
Given  merchants  in  exchange  for 
coin,  275. 
Book  of  Marco  Polo,  The, 

By     Col.     Henry     Yule,      263, 
264. 
Boston  Public  Library, 

Has  no  copy  of  Edkins's  "Bank- 
ing and  Prices  in  China," 
259. 

BOWERN,   T.    M., 

Publishes   sketch   of   history   of 
Chinese  paper  money  in  "  North 
China  Herald,"  261. 
British  Museum, 

Contains  two  Ming  notes,  246, 
281 ;  also  a  Chinese  Uterary  and 
scientific  encyclopaedia,  255; 
has  specimens  of  notes  said  by 
Ball  to  be  earUest  known,  264. 
Buddha, 

Image  overthrown,  247. 


Index 


BUSHELL,   S.    W.,  ^ 

Refers  to  a  Chinese  numismatical 
work,  ix;  furnishes  illustration 
of  inscriptions  on  1214  a.d. 
note,  265;  decline  of  Tae  Ping 
notes,  272,  273. 

Cathay, 

249. 
Chang,  F., 

Assists  in  explaining  about  Tang 
note,  vi;   character  of  explana- 
tion, ix,  X. 
Chang  Tsung-i, 

Author  of  a  Chinese  numismatical 
work,  viii. 
Chatjdoik,  S.  Bakon  de. 

Picture  of  note  given  in  his  book 
referred  to,  vii;  published  a 
numismatical  work  in  1842, 
256;  1000  cash  notes  only 
notes  that  have  come  down  to 
us,  263;  mention,  267;  first 
use  of  copper  plates,  273;  re- 
ferred to,  274;  abandonment 
of  notes,  1455  a.d.,  278. 
Chi  Chin  So  Chien  Lu, 

Title  of  Chinese  work  quoted  by 
Dr.  BusheU,  266. 
Ch'ien  Chih  Hsin  Pien, 

Chinese  numismatical  work,  viii. 
Ch'ien  Pit  Tung  Chih, 

Title  given  by  some  to  a  Chinese 
book,    245,    note;     259,    note. 
See  Ch'iian  Pu  T^ung  Chih. 
China  Branch  of  Royal  Asiatic 
Society. 
Journal  of,  quoted,  ix. 
China  —  Political,       Commercial 
AND  Social, 
Title  of   R.  M.   Martin's  book, 
256. 
Chinese  Bank  Note, 

Ming  note  so   described   in   ad- 
vertisement, 246;  also  on  labels 
in  British  Museum,  246. 
Chinese  Bank  Note  op  the  Ming 
Dynasty, 
Title  given  picture  of  one  kwan 
Ming  note,  265. 
Chinese  Book, 

How  printed,  vii. 
Chinese  History, 

As  written  by  Chinamen,  a  rec- 
ord of  Cabinet  discussions,  278, 
279. 


Chinese  Paper  Money, 

Title  of  Ramsden's  numismatical 
manual,  259;  contains  de- 
scriptions of  269  varieties  of 
notes,  261;  illustrated  with 
picture  of  flawless  one  kwan 
Ming  note,  265. 
Ching  T'sung, 

On  the  throne  when  Ibn  Batuta 
was  in  China,  252. 
Ch'uan  Chih, 

Title  of  Chinese  book  described  by 
BusheU,  ix. 
Ch'Uan  Pu  Tung  Chih, 

A  numismatical  work  which  has 
pictures  of  Tang  notes,  650- 
656  A.D.,  misplaced,  ix,  245, 
note;  photostat  taken  from, 
250,  note;  81  illustrations,  259, 
260. 
Circulation  of  Notes, 

Sometimes  restricted,  283. 
Columbus, 

V,  275. 
Condensation  of  the  Mirror  op 
History, 
Translation  of  a  Chinese  title  of 
a    book,    253;     copy    in    the 
New    York     Public     Library, 
255. 
Convenient  Money, 

Name   given   one   of   the   emis- 
sions, 275. 
Copper  Currency, 

Country  depended  on,  275. 
Copper  Plates, 

First  made  use  of  1168  a.d.,  273; 
first  made  use  of  by  Mongols, 
1277  A.D.,  273;  Saburo  terms 
them  machines,  274;  their  in- 
troduction of  Uttle  account, 
280,  281. 
Counterfeiting, 

Constant  penalty  for,  decapita- 
tion, 280;  recommendation  to 
legalize  counterfeits,  280. 

Decorations  of  Notes, 

Artists  have  used  imagination  in 
sketching  the  borders,  263; 
Decoration  of  one  kwan  Ming 
note  described,  247;  of  Tang 
notes,  270;  of  Western  Liao 
notes,  perfunctory,  271;  of 
Sung  notes,  inartistic  and  con- 
ventional, 271;  of  Ming  notes, 


Index 


Decorations  of  Notes — Continued. 
1425-1426  A.D.,  same   inferior 
character,  272;  Tae  Ping  notes 
used  dragon,  272. 
Deer-Skin  Money,  So-called, 
Not  regarded  herein  as  money, 
245;  not  regarded  by  CourceUe 
Seneuil  as  money,  257. 
Del  Mar,  Alexander, 

Described  Chinese  paper  money 
in  his  "History  of  Money  in 
Ancient  Countries,"  258. 
Depreciation  op  Notes, 

Law  of  supply  and  demand  over- 
rode government  edicts,  283. 
Description    of    the    Empire  '  of 
China,  etc.,  from  the  French 
OP  P.  J.  Du  Halde, 
Title  of  English    translation    of 
Du  Halde's  book,  253,  note. 
Dictionary  of  National  Biogra- 
phy, 
Taken  as  a  standard  to  estimate 
size  of  Chinese  book,  if  trans- 
lated, 255. 
Dictionary    op    Political    Econ- 
omy, 
By  McLeod.  Contains  account  of 
Chinese  paper  money ,^  256,  257. 

DiCTIONNAIRE  DE  l'EcONOMIE 

Politique, 
Contains   an  article  on  Chinese 
paper  money,  257. 
Drew,  Edward  B., 

Translates  inscriptions,  vi;  calls 
attention  to  Shioda  Saburo's 
paper,  258,  note;  commis- 
sioner of  customs  in  China, 
260;  translates  Tang  notes, 
260;  examines  characters  re- 
lating to  rewards,  282. 
Du  Halde,  Jean  Baptiste, 

A  Jesuit  author;   quotation  from 
translation  of  his  "Description 
de  la  Chine,"  253;  mention,  267. 
Dutch  Auction, 

Tae  Ping  notes  sold  by,  273. 

Eames,  Wilberforce, 

Contributes  information,  ix;    es- 
timates size  of  Chinese  books  if 
translated,  255. 
Edkins,  Joseph, 

A  missionary  to  China.  Published 
a  book  containing  information 
concerning  paper  money,  258, 


Edkins,  Joseph — Continued. 

259;    how    he   translated    the 
word  "Bar,"  274;    speaks  of 
scarcity  of  mulberry  bark  for 
paper,  282. 
Edward  III  of  England, 

A  contemporary  of  Marco  Polo, 
249. 
Emission  of  806  a.d., 

Causes  set  forth,  275. 
England, 

ix,  253,  260. 
Essex  Institute, 

Has  a  copy  of  "Ch'iian  Pu  Tung 
Chih,     259;    has  a  one  kwan 
Ming  note,  281. 
Europe, 

249,  251,  253,  284. 

Fang  Chan, 

Publishes  second  edition  of  "Ch'ien 
Chih  Hsin  Pien,"  viii. 
Five  Years  in  China, 

Title  of  F.  E.  Forbes's  book,  256. 
Flying  Money, 

Klaproth's   translation   of   name 
given  to  an  emission,  275. 
Forbes,  Frederick  Edwyn, 

Published  a  work  on  China,  256. 
Ford,  Worthington  C, 

Takes  photostats   of   notes,  vii, 
250,  note. 
Form  op  Note, 

Resembles  in  construction  Mas- 
sachusetts fiat  money,  277. 
France, 
253. 

General  Examination  of  Records 
AND  Scholars, 

Translation  of   title   of    Chinese 
book,  255,  274. 
Government  Seals  on  Notes, 

Red  on  Chaudoir  and  Morse 
notes,  vii;  on  Tang  notes  deli- 
cate red,  viii;  two  square 
seals  on  Tang  notes,  x;  two 
square  seals  on  face  of  one 
kwan  Ming  note  and  one  im- 
pressed in  vermilion  on  back, 
248;  seal  tinged  with  vermil- 
ion impressed,  250;  printed  in 
colors  by  Morse,  259;  Du 
Halde  gives  one  seal  in  black, 
262;  Chaudoir  gives  one  in 
red,  263;  Yule  gives  two  seals, 


6 


Index 


GoVER^TMErJT     SeALS     ON     NOTES  — 

Continued. 

264;  Vissering  gives  two,  264; 
Ramsden  gives  none,  265; 
Apparently  printed  on  Tang 
notes  before  impression  of  in- 
scriptions, 270;  two  seals  on 
face  of  Liao  notes,  271;  two 
on  face  of  Sung  notes,  272; 
no  notes  without  trace  of  seals 
on  face,  viii;  several  seals  on 
Tae  Ping  notes,  272. 
Great  Britain, 

Libraries  there  contain  informa- 
tion as  to  notes,  viii. 

Hart,  Sir  Robert, 

H.  B.  Morse  on  his  staff,  259; 
E.  B.  Drew  on  his  staff,  260; 
gets  Edkins  to  translate  cus- 
toms regulation,  274. 
Harvard  Library, 

Has  no  copy  of  "Banking  and 
Prices  in  China,"  259. 
Heptarchy,  The, 

260. 
Histoire  G6n£rale  de  la    Chine 
ou  Annales    de    get  Empire 
Tradxjites     du    Tong-Kieng- 
Kang-Mou, 

Title  of  de  Mailla's  translation  of 
"Condensation  of  the  Mirror 
of  History,"  253,  note. 
History    op    Money    in   Ancient 
Countries, 
Contains  a  description  of  Chinese 
paper  money,  258. 

Ibn  Batttta, 

An  Arabian  traveller.  His  ac- 
count of  paper  money  quoted, 
251,  252. 

Illustrations  of  Notes, 

To  be  found  in  "Ch'iian  Pu  T'ung 
Chih,"  ix;  one  kwan  Ming 
in  Du  Halde,  252,  262;  one 
kwan  Ming  in  Morse,  247,  259; 
one  kwan  Ming  in  Chaudoir, 
256;  one  kwan  Ming  in  Yule, 
264;  one  kwan  Ming  in  Visser- 
ing, 264;  one  kwan  Ming  in 
"The  Imprint,"  265;  one  kwan 
Ming  in  Ramsden's  "Chinese 
Paper  Money,"  265;  one  kwan 
Ming  in  "The  Numismatist," 
265. 


Imperial  Academy  op  Science,  at 
St.  Petersburg, 
Contains  three  one  kwan   Ming 
notes,  263,  281. 
Imprint,  The, 

A  publication  of  the  American 
Bank  Note  Co.    Contains  pic- 
ture of  one  kwan  Ming  note, 
265. 
Inflation, 

Described  by   Morse,   277,   278; 
opinions    of     Chinese    states- 
men, 279;  methods  of  preven- 
tion, 280. 
Inscriptions  op  the  Notes, 

Uniform  from  dynasty  to  dy- 
nasty, 260;  legible  to  any  per- 
son who  can  read  Chinese,  260; 
on  Tang  notes,  270;  not  ab- 
solutely uniform,  281,  282; 
differences  between  Du  Halde 
and  Morse,  282. 
Iron  Money, 

Sometimes  made  use  of,  276. 

Japan, 

258;    notes  of   Mongol  Dynasty 
obtained  there,  264. 
Jevons,  William  Stanley, 

Gives  a  brief  account  of  Chinese 
paper  money  in   "Money  and 
the  Mechanics  of  Exchange," 
257. 
Journal  Asiatique,  Paris, 

Contained  Klaproth's  article  on 
Chinese    paper    money,     254; 
Biot's  paper  published   there, 
256. 
Journal  des  Economistes, 

Contains  Benadakis's  paper,  257. 

Kanbalu, 

City  has  so-called  mint  of  Grand 
Khan,  249. 
Keun  Shoo  Pe  Kao, 

Title     of     Chinese    book,     255, 
note. 
King's  Library, 

British    Museum    contains    two 
Ming  notes,  264. 
Klaproth,  Heinrich  Julius, 

Pubhshed  article  on  Chinese  paper 
money  in  "Journal  Asiatique," 
254;  published  "M6moires  Re- 
latifs  a  I'Asie,"  254;  mention, 
255,  259,  261,  275,  284. 


Index 


Knickerbocker  Trust  Co., 

Has  or  did    have  a  one   kwan 
Ming  note,  281. 
KuBLAi  Khan, 

Not  on  throne  when  Ibn  Batuta 
in  China,  252. 

Lamb,  Charles, 

His  essay  on  roast  pig  referred  to, 
284. 
Law's  Mississippi  Scheme, 

253,  284. 
Lee,  The  Rev.  Samuel, 

Translates  Ibn  Batuta's  travels, 
251,  note. 
Letters  of  Exchange  or  Bonds, 

Given  merchants  in  exchange  for 
coin,  275. 
Leyden  or  Leide, 

248,  note;  257. 
Light  Money, 

Name  given  an  emission,  275. 
London,  England, 

246,  257,  267. 

Ma-twan-lin, 

A  Chinese  author,  255,  note; 
Biot's  paper  based  on  his  work, 
256;  appreciation  of,  by  Bene- 
dakis,  257;  his  work  trans- 
lated by  Vissering,  257;  value 
of  his  observations,  278;  opin- 
ion of  Benedakis,  278. 
MacLeod,  Henry  Dunning, 

Published  an  account  of  Chinese 
paper  money,  256,  257. 
Mailla,  Joseph  de. 

Translated    into    French  "Tung 
Keen  Kang  Muh,"  253. 
Manchester,  England, 

viii,  ix. 
Manchu  Notes, 

Alleged  emission,  1651  a.d.,  278. 
Mandevillb,  Sir  John  de. 

Corroborated  use  of  paper  money 
in  China,  250,  251. 
Manghu  Khan, 

Stamp  on  paper  money  resembles 
his  seal,  249. 
Marco  Polo, 

See  Polo. 
Martin,  Robert  Montgomery, 

Published  a  book  on  China,  256. 
Masefield,  John, 

Wrote  introduction  to  Polo's  tra- 
vels, 249,  note. 


Massachusetts,      Massachusetts 
Bay, 
253,  277,  281,  284,  285. 
Massachusetts     Historical     So- 
ciety, 

Furnishes  photostat  of  note,  vii. 
M£moirb  sur  le  Syst£mb  Mon£- 

TAIRE   DES  ChINOISE, 

Title  of  Biot's  paper,  256,  note. 
M^moires  Relatifs  a  l'Asie, 

By  Klaproth.    Contains  account 
of  paper  money,  254,  255. 
Ming  Note  for  one  Kwan,  1368- 
1398  A.D., 

To  be  found  in  some  of  our  mu- 
seums, v;  folds  made  by  per- 
sons carrying,  easy  to  see,  viii; 
one  acquired  by  me,  1910  a.d., 
246;  described  in  advertisement, 
246;  described  by  Morse,  247, 
248;  inscriptions  translated  by 
Morse,  247,  248;  translated 
by  Du  Halde,  252;  engraving 
of  in  Chaudoir,  256,  263;  il- 
lustrations of  referred  to,  259; 
ownership  of  notes  traced,  261; 
Hung  up  in  Chinese  houses  as 
rarities,  253,  262,  266;  speci- 
mens at  St.  Petersburg  and 
London,  264,  281 ;  at  Shanghai, 
281;  at  Salem,  281;  at  New 
York,  281;  reproduced  by  vari- 
ous authors,  264,  265;  collectors 
of  Chinese  paper  money  have 
only  this  note,  268;  picture 
witnout  seal  characters  in  Sun- 
day "Sun,"  267;  my  note 
mounted  in  China  as  rarity, 
266;  notes  ,of  this  denomina- 
tion alone  can  be  compared 
with  each  other,  281 ;  museums, 
etc.,  containing  them,  281. 
Ming  Notes,  1425-1426  a.d., 

Described,  272. 
Monetary  Commission, 

Throws   hght   on  use  of  paper    , 
money,  vi. 
Money    and   the   Mechanism   of 
Exchange, 

Contains  brief  account  of   Chi- 
nese paper  money,  257. 
Mongol  Notes, 

Edkins  says  obtained  from  Japan, 
264;  Morse  says  unable  to  ob- 
tain one,  264;  Edkins  says  each 
province    manufactured,    282; 


8 


Index 


Mongol  Notes — Continued. 

Marco  Polo  says  paper  made 
of  mulberry  bark,  249, 
282. 

Monkey-like  Suspicion  and  Panic 
AT  THE  Cry  of  a  Bird, 
Literal    rendering    of  a  Chinese 
book  title,  274. 

Moors,  The, 

In  Spain.  May  possibly  have 
known  of  Chinese  paper  money, 
251. 

Morse,  H.  B., 

His  picture  of  note  referred  to, 
vii;  his  book  referred  to,  247; 
on  the  staff  of  Sir  Robert 
Hart,  259;  published  communi- 
cation in  "Joiu-nal  of  North 
China  Branch,  Royal  Asiatic 
Society,"  259;  inscriptions  on 
Ming  note,  translated  by,  247, 
248,  259;  unable  to  procure 
Mongol  note,  264;  mention, 
267;  says  "Shoe  of  Sycee" 
meaning  Shoe  of  Silver,  269; 
says  no  emissions  from  Ming 
Dynasty  to  1851  a.d.,  272; 
treats  of  inflation,  277,  278; 
note  lithographed  by  him  in 
St.  John's  College,  Shanghai, 
281. 

Mulberry  Bark  Old  Paper  Money, 
Certain  notes  so-called,  282. 

Museum  op  Fine  Arts,  Boston, 
Has  possession  of  these  Chinese 
notes,  xi. 

New  York, 

281. 
New  York  Public  Library, 

Contains  Chinese  books,  255. 
New  York  Sun,  Sunday, 

Publishes    picture  of    one  kwan 
Ming    note    having    no    seal 
characters,  267. 
North    China    Branch     op    the 
Royal  Asiatic  Society, 
Journal    of.     Contains    Morse's 
paper  on  Chinese  paper  money, 
259;  A.  W.  Bahr,  Hon.  Secretary 
of,  268;  quoted,  272. 
North  China  Herald, 

Contains  account  of  Chinese  paper 
money,  261;  traces  ownership 
of  one  kwan  Ming  notes,  261, 
267. 


Numismatist,  The, 

A  New  York  illustrated  monthly. 
Gives  a  picture  of  a  one  kwan 
Ming  note,  265. 

Old      Chinese      Porcelain      and 
Works  of  Art  in  China, 
Illustrated     work     by     A.     W. 
Bahr,  268. 
On  Chinese  Currency,  Coins  and 
Paper  Money, 
By  W.  Vissering,  248,  note;  de- 
scribed, 257. 
Orange,  James, 

Collaborates    in    pubUcation    of 
work  on  Chinese  porcelain,  267, 
268;   has  friend  who  owns  old 
Chinese  notes,  267;   writes  and 
obtains  offer  of  sale,  268;  pro- 
nounces Mr.  Bahr  best  of  ex- 
perts, 268 ;  gives  list  of  notes,  269. 
Origin  of  the  Paper  Currency  of 
China,  The, 
Paper    in   "Journal    of    Peking 
Oriental  Society,"  258,  note. 

Paper  op  Notes, 

Made  of  mulberry  bark,  247, 
249,  250,  282;  color  dark  slate, 
247;  expert  thinks  of  bamboo 
pulp,  269;  has  little  or  no  siz- 
ing, 263,  269;  color  of  differ- 
ent emissions,  269,  270;  Tae 
Ping  notes,  272;  Mongol  notes 
certainly  made  of  vegetable 
fibre  pulp,  282. 

Paris, 

254,  269. 

Peking, 

Summer  palace  looted,  247;  Rus- 
sian mission  knows  no  other 
Chinese  note  than  one  kwan 
Ming,  263;  Mr.  Bahr  buys 
Ming  notes  there,  269;  Tae 
Ping  notes  sold  in  streets  of,  273. 

Peking  Oriental  Society, 

Journal  of.  Contains  Saburo's 
paper,  258;  contains  paper  of 
S.  W.  Bushell,  265. 

Petrucci,  p.. 

Thinks  paper  of  notes  made  from 
bamboo  pulp,  269. 

Pickering,  John, 

A  founder  of  American  Oriental 
Society,  254;  translates  and 
pubUshes     Klaproth's    article, 


Index 


0 


Pickering,  John  —  Continued. 

254;  president  of  American 
Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences, 
254. 

Polo,  Marco, 

When  in  China,  246,  247;  his 
travels  quoted,  249,  250;  his 
account  compared  with  that  of 
Ibn  Batuta,  251,  252;  says 
notes  made  of  mmberry  bark, 
249,  282. 

Presbyterian    Mission    Press., 
Shanghai, 
Prints   "  Banking  and  Prices  in 
China,"  258,  note. 

Ramsden,  H.  a., 

PubUsnes     "Chinese     Paper 
Money,"  259;  hesitates  to  en- 
dorse Tang  note,  650-656  a.d., 
260;  president  Yokohama  Nu- 
mismatical  Society,  265;  Sycee 
used  by  him  for  "Shoe  of  Sil- 
ver," 269;  translation  of  Tang 
notes,  270;  prescribed  color  of 
Liao    notes,     271;     prescribed 
color  of  Sung  notes,  271;   pre- 
scribed   color   of    Ming   notes, 
1425,  1426  A.D.,  272;   chrono- 
logical    arrangement     of     his 
manual    an    advantage,     273; 
his   descriptions  of  notes,  281. 
Recueil  de  Divers  Voyages  Curi- 
Eux  PAR  P.  Bergeron, 
Voyage  de    Rubruquis    en  Tar- 
taric, 248,  note. 
Recueil    de     Monnaies    de     la 
Chine,  etc.. 
Title  of  Chaudoir's  book,  256,  note. 
Redemptions, 

Discussed,  276,  277;  some  copper, 
some  sUver,  277. 
Reminiscences     op    a    Time     of 
Suspicion  and  Panic, 
A  Chinese  title  for  a  book,  274. 
Rewards  for  Informers, 

One    kwan     Ming,    248;     Tang 
notes,  270;  Western  Liao,  271; 
Sung,  272;  Ming,  272. 
Royal  Asiatic  Society, 

See    China   Branch    and    North 
China  Branch. 

RUBROUCK  OR  RUBBUK, 

A  Franciscan  friar  who  mentions 
early  Chinese  paper  money,  248; 
what  he  said,  249. 


Russian  Mission  at  Peking, 

Knows  only  the  one  kwan  Ming 
note  of  1368-1398  a.d.,  263. 
Ryland's    Library,    Manchester, 
England, 
Has  a  copy  of  "Ch'ien  Chih  Hsin 
Pien,"  viii. 

Saburo,  Shioda, 

Published  paper  on  Chinese  paper 
money,  258;   translated  state- 
ment   concerning   wood    cuts, 
caUing    them    machines,    274; 
Manchu     notes,     278;     tran- 
slated  opinions  of    Chinese 
statesmen,  279. 
St.  John's  College,  Shanghai, 
Receives  gift  of  a  Ming  note,  247; 
note  now  in  museum,  281. 
St.  Petersbourg,  St.  Petersburg, 
256;    Yule  procured  his  picture 
there,     264;      Vissering    went 
there  for  his,  264;    three  one 
kwan  Ming  notes  there,  263, 
281. 
Salem,  Massachusetts, 

259,  281. 
Scott,  Sir  Walter, 

Tang   notes   antedate    his   most 
ancient  heroes,  271. 
Seal  Characters  on  Notes, 

On  half-tone  of  Tang  notes,  not 

Shotographic,   viii;   one  kwan 
ling     has      conventionalized 
square    seal    characters,    247; 
two  seals  on  face,  one  on  back, 
each  bearing  square  seal  char- 
acters, 248;  legible  to  persons 
famiUar  with  the  style  of  writ- 
ing,  260;    reproduced   by   Du 
Halde,     262;     translated     by 
Du  Halde,  262;  translated  by 
Morse,  247,  248;   Emperor  pe- 
titioned for  their  removal,  267. 
Seaman,  Major  Louis  Livingston, 
Acquires   bundle    of    one   kwan 
Ming  notes,  247. 
Secret  Annals   op  the   Manchu 
Court, 
Article  in   "Atlantic   Monthly," 
274. 
Seneuil,  Courcelle, 

Author  of  article  on  Chinese  paper 
money,  257. 
Shanghai, 

247,  258,  note,  268,  269,  281. 


10 


Index 


Soo  Chow, 

A  provincial  city  from  which  old 
notes  came,  269. 
South  Sea  Bubble, 

253. 
Spain, 

251. 
Stockholm,  Bank  of, 

246. 
Sung  Notes,  1165-1178  ad., 

Described,  271,   272;    prescribed 
color,  271. 
Sycee, 

Chinese  expression  for  silver, 
269. 

Tae  Ping  Rebellion, 

Notes  emitted  at  that  time,  259, 
269  272. 
Tang  Notes,  650-656  a.d., 

F.  Chang  assists  in  removing 
doubts,  vi;  how  this  was  done, 
ix,  x;  possible  recognition  of 
date  of  notes,  245;  condition 
of  England  at  this  date,  260; 
not  necessarily  first  in  use, 
260,  261;  forged  illustration 
not  conceivable,  261;  con- 
temporary affairs  in  England, 
271. 
Tang  Notes,  841-847  a.d., 

Printed  in  three  colors,  vii; 
colors  approximately  correct, 
viii;  referred  to,  246;  described 
in  detail,  269,  270;  contem- 
poraneous with  Alfred  the 
Great,  271. 
Taxes, 

Custom  as  to  receiving  notes  for, 
280. 
Theory  and  Practice  of  Banking, 
Contains   reference    to    Chinese 
paper  money,  257. 
Time  Notes, 

Of  various  terms,  276,  277. 
Trade  and  Administration  of  the 
Chinese  Empire,  The, 
247,  259,  264,  note. 
Translation  op  Chinese  Text, 
Difficulties  set  forth,  274,  275. 
Translations  of  Notes, 

The  Tang  notes,  650-656  a.d., 
x;  the  one  kwan  Ming  note, 
1368-1398  A.D.,  by  Morse, 
247,  248;  by  Du  Halde,  252; 
of  Tang  notes,  270. 


Travels  of  Ibn  Batuta, 

Translated  by  the  Rev.  Samuel 
Lee,  251,  note. 
Travels  of  Marco  Polo,  etc., 

249,  note. 
T'ung, 

The  family  name  of  the  owner  of 
the  Tang  note,  650-656  a.d.,  x. 
Tung  Keen  Kang  Muh, 

Title  of  a  Chinese  historical  work, 

253,  255,  note. 

Twelve  Varieties  of  Old  Notes, 

Meaning  of  heading,  page  22,  made 

plain,  xi;  list  of  the  notes,  269. 

Values  op  Notes, 

Some  expressed  in  silver,  some  in 
copper,  282;  discrepant  values 
in  concurrent  circulation,  283. 

ViSSERING,   W., 

Published  a  book  on  coins  and 
currency,  and  paper  money, 
248,  note;  description  of  book, 
257;  his  opinion  of  Ma-twan- 
lin,  278. 

Wan  Heen  Tung  Kaou, 

Title  of  Chinese  book,  255,  note. 
Wang  Ke, 

A  Chinese  author,  255,  note. 
Western     Liao,      Three     Kwan 
Notes,  1135-1142  a.d.. 
Description   of,    271;    prescribed 
color,  271. 
Where  Notes  Mentioned  Herein 
ARE  TO  be  Found, 
In  Museum  of  Fine  Arts,  Boston, 
xi;    three  one  kwan   Ming  at 
St.Petersburg,  263, 281 ;  two  one 
kwan   Ming   in   London,   246, 
264,  281 ;  one  one  kwan  Ming  in 
Knickerbocker  Trust  Co.,  281; 
one  one  kwan  Ming  in  Essex 
Institute,  281;   one  one  kwan 
Ming,     St.     John's     College, 
Shanghai,  281;  one  one  kwan 
Ming,    American    Bank    Note 
Co.,   New  York,   281;    H.  A. 
Ramsden,  Yokohama,  265. 
Wood  Cuts, 

Alone  made  use  of  up  to  1168 
A.D.,  273;  Saburo  terms  them 
machines,  274;  introduction  of 
copper  plates  meant  little,  280, 
281;  blocks  cut  simultaneously 
in  many  places,  281. 


Index 


11 


Yi  Chan, 

Furnishes  preface  for  edition  of 
"Ch'ien  Chih  Hsin  Pien,"  viii. 
Yokohama, 

259. 
Yokohama  Numismatical  Society, 
H.    A.    Ramsden    is    president, 
265. 


York  Harbor,  Maine, 

207. 
YuLK,  Col.  Henry, 

Edits  Polo's  Travels,  263,  264; 
has  never  heard  of  preserva- 
tion of  Mongol  note,  264;  Ming 
notes  highly  valued  as  curiosi- 
ties, 264. 


/-i^ 


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